Into the Nightmare
by noa748
Summary: Everything looked so much more...deadly when she wasn't watching it from behind a TV screen. But that was okay; this had to be a dream, right? It would all be over soon...
1. Prologue

**A/N: I can't believe I'm doing this, but...I am.**

**A Silent Hill self-insert. If you think I'm masochistic now, wait till you see the crap I put my own character through... Not a Mary-Sue. I promise.**

**----**

"_The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh."_

That quote always does seem to spark a sense of nostalgia in me. Most people just wouldn't understand. What is it? It sounds creepy, doesn't it? And yet, it brings back a lot of memories; although not all the images it brings are good, I can't deny that the quote makes me think of some good times I had.

I always was too much of a daydreamer. My mind's never on the present; it's hard being a writer and _not _thinking of different possibilities for stories, especially when it helps keep you entertained during a long day at school. Sometimes I wonder how I ever managed to get my driver's license, with how I am. I make so many wrong turns it's not even funny.

Somehow I don't think this one was my fault, though.

No, most people wouldn't understand the fear of blood and its tendencies. Most people have never had the pleasures of traversing the abandoned streets of Silent Hill...

I never imagined I'd be doing so without a controller in my hand.


	2. Have You Seen my Wife?

**A/N: Whoa, I updated this. Shocker! Let's see if anyone bothers to read it.**

**Once again, this is a blatant self-insert. I even use my real name here. (go ahead, hunt me down!) **

**So! Since I'm a wuss and would probably die within .00001 seconds of landing in SH, this should be interesting. It's scary enough playing the _game, _never mind actually facing all that crap...XD**

**Disclaimer: Silent Hill 2 is property of Konami. I'm not brilliant or morbid enough to make a game like that. XD**

**----**

My back hurt.

That was the first thing I became aware of as I lay here; but where was _here, _exactly? I didn't know. I just knew that my back was sore, and the ache was starting to pull me out of sleep.

I shifted slightly, attempting to reach a more comfortable position, and frowned. This all felt wrong...this didn't feel like my bed. It was too cold, there was no blanket...in fact, it felt like I was lying on sand. But that couldn't be right...

I opened my eyes, hoping that I was wrong, that I was really home in my bed.

"...What?" I murmured to myself, gaping at my surroundings.

It looked like I was on a beach of some sort, bordering a lake. Its gray waters were relatively placid, reflecting the cool fog above. I glanced around, my frown steadily deepening. There seemed to be a road behind me, and behind that, forest.

Disoriented, I reached up to rub my forehead. How the hell had I gotten here...? What was this place? I still felt half-asleep; my mind was about as foggy as my surroundings. I shook my head, squinting my eyes shut for a brief moment.

The last thing I remembered...I had been driving home from school. It had been foggy then, too...

Starting to truly wake up, I scowled. I couldn't remember making it home, but that didn't explain how I'd ended up here. Even if I had crashed the car or something, the lake closest to my house was still about ten miles away. It didn't add up.

Well, sitting on my ass and thinking about it wasn't going to solve anything. Maybe I could take a look around.

As I stood up, I suddenly remembered my cell phone, and patted down my right pocket in search of it. Relief surged through me when my hand touched the familiar device. I pulled it out of my pocket, flipping it open. I could probably call my mom for a ride, if I could figure out where I was. I just had to use the GPS...

Shit. No bars.

I stared at the phone's lit screen for a second, my brow furrowed, and then looked around me again. No bars...that definitely wasn't a good sign. Was I seriously that far from town?

Pocketing the phone once more, I took a deep breath. It was okay, though, right? There was a paved road right behind me. If I followed that, I'd eventually reach civilization. And if not, I'd probably find a house or two. All I had to do was knock on someone's door, and ask to use their phone. Someone was bound to have a landline.

Comforting myself with this thought, I started down the road. The lake remained to my left as I walked, and I continually glanced at it. It seemed pretty big...

I began to name off all of the New York lakes that I knew of, and still didn't get any closer to an answer. This wasn't nearly big enough to be one of the Great Lakes, but it didn't have the right shape to it to be one of the Finger Lakes... The lake I had been thinking of earlier, Oneida Lake, was much closer to my house. But still, I had been around that area enough times to know that this wasn't the same place. One of the lakes up by the Adirondacks, then? But how the hell would I end up there?

I continually cast troubled glances towards the lake's murky waters. I wasn't sure why this was bothering me so much, not being able to name the lake. Maybe it was because it seemed oddly familiar...hell, everywhere around me seemed familiar in some sort of way. I knew this place, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. If I could just figure out where I was, I'd be that much closer to getting home...

Through the fog, I started to see the outline of a building. Finally! I jogged towards it, smiling slightly with satisfaction. This didn't make any sense, but at least I'd be able to straighten things out and get some answers now.

I slowed down as I reached the building, nearing the doors and pausing. There was a lock and chain binding the two handles together, preventing entry. This didn't look like a personal residence, though. I backed away, looking around, and quickly found my answer. I'd missed the sign in my hurry, but it looked like this was some sort of museum.

Facing the sign, I stared at it for a moment, crossing my arms.

"Silent Hill Historical Society," I murmured, shaking my head. "Silent Hill..."

I looked over at the building again, struck by its familiarity. Now that I was really looking, it did resemble _that _building, the one with the impossibly long staircase.

I scoffed, smiling. Just a coincidence. A coincidence, or an interesting dream. Regardless of my situation, Silent Hill didn't exist; there was probably some sort of explanation for this. Maybe the building in the game had been named after this one for some reason? Agh, it didn't matter.

Turning away from the building, I continued my trek down the road. If there was a museum here...that meant there had to be other buildings nearby. People didn't build museums in the middle of nowhere.

I checked my phone again. Still no service...why wasn't it working?

The fog continued to press at me as I walked in silence down the edge of the road. There weren't any cars, but I guess that wasn't too surprising. Not many people would want to be out driving with such low visibility.

Something continued to nag at me, the familiarity of this place, but I dismissed it immediately and kept walking. Seconds dragged on into minutes, and I found myself repeatedly checking my phone to see how long I'd been walking. The road remained pretty much the same through the whole thing, slightly curved but with no turns or intersections.

After twenty minutes, I began to wonder if I was even making any progress at all. It felt like the road was endless; it was so foggy, I didn't feel like I was even moving forward half the time. The lake remained to my left, and even the shoreline didn't show much irregularity. It was starting to weird me out. I didn't want to run, because I was sure that once I started, I'd smash into a street sign or something. This fog was ridiculous.

Twenty-two minutes had passed. Buildings finally started to appear. I approached a gas station, a bowling alley. Both were closed and locked. I banged on the doors, but no employees came to answer. A car idled at the gas pump, a metal pipe jutting out of the hood. I stared at it for a long time, fighting the irrational urge to pull the pipe out.

No, that would be stupid. What use did I have for a pipe?...More importantly, what was a pipe doing sticking out of that damn car? And why was a car idling at a closed gas station?

I glanced up at the sign. Texxon Gas...

Had that one gas station been named that? It couldn't have been. My mind was just playing tricks on me.

I spent about five minutes fruitlessly searching for the car's owner. Once again, I fought the urge to take the pipe, or even the car itself. If I found the police, I wanted them to help me, not throw me behind bars for vehicle theft.

It was useless...the owner was nowhere in sight. Then again, I wasn't sure I _wanted _to meet whoever left a friggin' pipe jutting out of their car. Obviously they had some issues.

Sighing, I finally turned away from the gas station and headed back out on to the road. Keeping the lake to my left once more, I trudged further up the street. Maybe I'd be able to find some residential areas...clearly this part of town was deserted for some weird reason.

...This damn fog...

Another few minutes of walking led me to a few more buildings, a fence and a staircase. The buildings were locked up—no surprise there—and so was the gate to the fence, but it seemed like that only led to a parking lot. I descended the short stairway, heading down a concrete sidewalk. Some shrubs and bushes came into view, meticulously cut. Well, it looked like this place had a gardener. Maybe I wasn't completely out of luck.

I paused at what seemed to be some sort of gate, and my eyes immediately found the sign.

Rosewater Park.

"Right, sure," I grumbled. _That _park, of course. Like that was possible. Did that mean if I kept walking, I'd run into a blonde woman wearing a leopard print skirt? Probably not.

This was seriously starting to annoy me. I had been walking for long enough that I could tell I wasn't dreaming, so this had to be a weird coincidence. I just wanted to go home; why did it have to be so goddamn difficult? What kind of freak town was this?

I walked down another set of stairs, my eyes wandering over a few statues as I passed them, and I tried to ignore the increasing uneasiness I felt. Those statues...and this park...

After walking a little further, I found an area that overlooked the lake. I approached the railing, leaning my elbows on to it as I attempted to gather my bearings.

It was okay...things were still okay. I still hadn't made it to the center of town, where all the buildings were. Once I did, I'd definitely find people, if not a pay phone or two. One quick call home, and I'd be able to get out of here.

"Mary?"

I jumped, almost gasping at the sudden voice. I turned around to see a blond man wearing a deep green coat staring at me with an expression of surprise.

Oh, this was _not _happening.

His face fell when he came closer. "No...you're not Mary."

"Christ, you scared me," I said quietly, crossing my arms. No, that wasn't the right tense...he was still scaring me. I suddenly felt off-balance, like I could pass out at any minute.

He paused, letting out a sigh. "Sorry. For a minute there, I thought you were..." He shook his head. "It's the fog, I guess. Playing tricks on my eyes."

I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to know. "Are you...looking for someone?"

The man immediately nodded, pulling a photograph out of his pocket. "My late wife, Mary. Have you seen her?"

He held the picture out to me, and I stared at it with a cold feeling in my stomach. After a moment, I shook my head.

"N-No..." I paused for a moment, and then frowned at him. "Your late wife. What, you're looking for a body?"

Oh, God, if this went on for much longer...

He looked away. "I...I got a letter from her. I don't know how, but...it was in her handwriting. It said she'd be waiting in our 'special place'..."

"Pretty sketchy," I mumbled, staring at my feet. Blond hair...green coat...was that a _gun _on his belt? Jesus Christ.

I hesitated again. This was the only person I'd seen since I woke up...

"Look, I don't want to be a burden, but I'm totally lost. Mind if I tag along for a bit? I'll help out if I can," I said.

"...Okay," he said, after a moment, looking at me once more.

I managed a small smile. "Um...I'm Brittany, by the way. Brittany Furness."

"James Sunderland," he replied, nodding. Then he frowned. "Are you all right? You don't look so good."

I was staring at him with a mixture of shock and horror, my insides feeling as if they had frozen solid. I forced myself to look away, instead gazing down at my now-shaking hands.

James Sunderland.

No! It was just a name, it didn't mean anything. It was just a coincidence, all of it.

I crossed my arms once more so that he wouldn't notice my trembling hands.

"I think so. I'm just...a little tired, I think." I forced a laugh, but it came out sounding hoarse. "I've been wandering around this place for an hour. My cell phone's not working, either. I just need to find a pay phone so I can call my mom and get the hell out of here. Have you tried calling the police about Mary?"

He was staring at me like I was crazy. James, the one who was looking for his _dead _wife.

Coming a little closer, he faltered for a moment, seeming to really look at me now.

"Brittany..." he said quietly, brow furrowed slightly. "...Have you _seen _this town? Really seen it?"

"Huh?" I blinked. "Not much of it, no...just a locked up building here and there. But what does that have to do with anything?"

James continued to hesitate, and it started to dawn on me that he was trying to be gentle. Gentle, as if his next few words would hurt me in some way. Almost like a doctor about to reveal the bad news to his patient.

"...The entire town's like this," he finally said in a flat voice. "The phones don't work. And..."

"What?" I stared at him. "That doesn't make sense."

"Not a lot of this place does," he murmured, and I tried to pretend I didn't hear him. I tried to forget about the gun, tried not to look at the flecks of blood I was now starting to notice on his jacket.

James finally just shook his head. "...You can come with me. This town...it's not safe. I'm leaving as soon as I find Mary. After that, I can help you get home. Is that all right with you?"

"Y-Yeah...I guess," I replied, still feeling frozen inside. "But...what do you mean, the town isn't safe?"

"Monsters," he answered after a moment's pause, and his abrupt bluntness shocked me into silence.

The word seemed to echo in my head for several moments, a confirmation of what I'd been fearing all along.

Monsters...

James Sunderland.

Silent Hill.

This couldn't be happening to me...

James stared at me for a second, and his gaze seemed to soften. "...You'll see. Or not. Hopefully not."

He looked away, in the direction I had come from. "Anyway, there's somewhere else I think we can look."

"Where's that?" I asked in a small voice, trying to pretend the monsters had never come up.

"The Lakeview Hotel," he answered, gazing out over the lake. "That's the only other special place I can think of."

He turned away, towards the stairs that led to the path out of the park. "Are you coming, then?"

"Yeah," I replied quickly, jogging up to walk next to him.

We walked up the stairs, exiting Rosewater Park...and as we did so, my insides began to thaw. The first hints of fear entered my system, and I fought to push them away.

I was in Silent Hill.

Suddenly and without warning, the fog seemed suffocating.

----

**A/N: Denial much? Basically, that's what this whole chapter was.**

**More character description next chapter. Unless you're reeeally slow, I'm sure that you've noticed Brittany is a girl by now. XD**

**Review! You want to, I can tell!**


	3. Eddie and Laura

**A/N: Omg! I updated! :D I'm proud of myself. Anyway, yeah. I don't know what else to say here, really. Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Silent Hill series, I'd be out making an awesome game right now instead of sitting at my computer writing fanfiction.**

**----**

The town was completely silent, save for the sound of our footsteps echoing on the pavement. After the short conversation we'd had, I couldn't quite bring myself to talk to him again. There was far too much on my mind. I had to organize my thoughts before...before something happened.

I almost shuddered. If this happened exactly the way I thought it would...then the craziness had only just begun. So, what was worse? Staying with James, or being alone in the town? I was too afraid to be alone, now that I knew where I was. But I was sure that tagging along with James was probably the most dangerous thing I could do...

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. After all, Lying Figures and Mannequins had roamed the streets in the game, and yet I hadn't seen a single one since I woke up here.

I paused, almost bumping into James as he stopped. It took me a moment or two to realize why he had stopped—we'd arrived at the destroyed bridge, the one down the road from the Historical Society. This was near the spot where I'd woken up.

James was bending over something. Eh? What was—

"Jesus Christ!" I screeched, backing up in horror.

Stumbling to the edge of the road, I paused to retch for several seconds, almost heaving up my lunch in the process.

Lying in the middle of the road before the dropoff...was a human corpse.

Part of my mind remembered there being a corpse here in the game, but that bloody lump was nothing like this. This was fucking _real._

Its—no, _his_—eyes were wide open, a blank and staring expression on his face. There were numerous slash marks cutting across his chest, and a huge chunk of flesh was missing from one of his arms. The blood formed an ominous crimson pool around his body. It was still wet; still fresh. This person hadn't been dead for long. Whatever had killed him...was probably still nearby.

This realization almost caused me to start retching again. I bent over slightly, placing a hand over my mouth, anticipating the unpleasant sensation.

A large hand firmly gripped my shoulder. I allowed James to grasp my other shoulder as well, guiding me away from the corpse and the metallic stench of blood. After we had walked for a few minutes, he stopped and turned to me. I still had one hand firmly placed over my mouth.

"Are you all right?" He asked gently. I immediately shook my head.

"Wh-Who could've...?" But, of course, I already knew the answer. I just didn't want to accept it.

James didn't reply; he just continued to stare at me with a very solemn expression. After a moment, I felt my stomach calm down a bit. But the fear hadn't lessened at all.

"How are you not affected by that?!" I snapped, jabbing a finger in the general direction of the corpse. "That was...that was a human body, wasn't it?! Somebody...no...some_thing_ killed that person..."

He was still silent, and I knew why. He had already mentioned monsters. He was just waiting for me to stop my denial.

"We could die here, couldn't we?" I suddenly asked in a small voice. "Oh my God...this is really happening..."

Nothing human could have killed that man. Nothing.

"I won't let anything happen to you," James said quietly. "All right?"

I bit my lip, not quite believing him. How could you protect _anyone _in Silent Hill when it was hard enough just protecting yourself? Suddenly the town looked as ominous as it felt, and I knew that anything could be hiding in that fog.

"...Okay," I said, but only because he was waiting for an answer. There was nothing I could do to ensure my safety here.

James didn't make any reply, but I could feel him staring at me. He hadn't been here for _that _long, had he? Long enough to go through the apartment buildings; that's it. How was it that he was so much calmer than me right now? He wasn't exactly in the best state of mind right now, but still...

A crinkling noise caused me to look over in his direction; I noted with a frown that he was smoothing out a yellowed piece of paper. The edge of it was soaked with blood.

"What is that?" I asked in a weak voice, moving closer to him.

"A map," he answered. "I found it on the...I found it."

His effort to censor himself didn't make me feel much better, because it was pretty easy to tell what he'd been about to say. Still, I leaned closer to get a better view. I had already remembered what it was, but I figured I'd give some input for James' benefit.

"The bowling alley's circled," I pointed out, satisfied with the short look I'd taken. Nothing else of interest was on the map; just blood and grime. I couldn't fathom how James had reached over and taken that thing off the corpse; I didn't even want to look at it for a prolonged period of time.

"Hm..." James stared off down the road with a troubled look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No...it's nothing. We should get going; it's the only lead we've got, after all."

"Yeah..." I murmured, taking one final glance in the direction of the destroyed bridge. Only a faded outline was visible through the fog; I couldn't see the corpse from here. I had the sudden idea that if it stood up and walked, we wouldn't see it coming.

No, that was utterly ridiculous. I was letting my imagination run wild.

"...Though I don't see what a bowling alley has to do with anything," I said with a nervous laugh, and started walking. James caught up and took the lead.

"Not much in this town _does _make sense," he commented quietly.

It fell silent after that, as I wasn't really sure what to say. I thought about the bridge, how it looked like it had been blasted away with some immense force. That wasn't the result of little maintenance and gradual deterioration; something had _destroyed _that bridge. And the very fact that I couldn't see what that something was disturbed me to no end.

Yes, there was no doubt about it...creatures prowled through this fog. Just because they weren't out in the open like in the game didn't mean they weren't there.

The hair on the back of my neck rose at this thought, and for the first time I noticed how James walked with his hand hovering close to the butt of his gun. He knew. He had known from the beginning.

We walked like that for a little while, lapsing back into familiar silence. Despite my paranoia, we didn't run into anything during our trek. Our only company was the endless fog and the lurking possibility of danger.

After a few more minutes had passed, a low rumbling met my ears. My body tensed for a moment, before I registered the fact that it was the car from before. I could see the shadow of it through the fog, the car with the metal pipe jutting out of its hood. A cloud of black exhaust flowed from its tailpipe, mingling with the haze before dissipating.

James approached the car, eyeing it warily; anything suspicious here could easily mean trouble.

"I passed by that thing earlier," I said, standing at a distance. "I don't know how the hell it got like that."

He spared me a glance, nodding, and then walked up to the pipe. Experimentally placing a hand on it, he hesitated for a brief moment before yanking it out with a grunt.

As I expected it to, the car sputtered for a moment before its engine died. Just like that, we were plunged into silence once more.

Keeping a firm grip on the pipe, James walked around either side of the car and gazed through its windows. It only took him a few seconds to discern that there was nothing of interest for us here.

He returned to my side, and I wasn't surprised when he held out the pipe.

"Here," he said solemnly. "You should probably hold on to this."

I took it without a word. It seemed like the look of pure dread in my eyes was enough of a response for him, because he turned and gestured for me to follow.

Matching his pace, I gripped the metal pipe tightly. It was slightly rusted, but it seemed sturdy enough. It was around three feet long, just like the game had described it, and just the right weight for me to carry around. I hoped I wouldn't have to use it.

In a matter of seconds, we were standing in front of a large and familiar building. The main sign, as well as various fliers taped around the building, confirmed that this was in fact Pete's Bowl-O-Rama. James held the door open for me and I slipped inside, careful to keep the pipe from banging on the doorframe. I wasn't sure whose attention I would catch if I made a loud noise; I didn't really want to find out.

We slipped through the first door we came to, though I knew the one at the end of the hall would be locked. The door took us into some sort of supply closet slash employee's lounge. One end of the room was full of clutter, and another part contained an old looking sofa and a coffee table. It was a bit different in here than I remembered.

James immediately began an investigation of the room, his eyes scanning over every nook and cranny. It struck me as morbidly amusing for a moment, and I had to fight the urge to laugh. His actions seemed strange, but it was exactly what I always _made _him do when I played the game. There was no way to get through Silent Hill without meticulous investigation. On my first playthrough of Silent Hill 3, I had gotten completely stuck just because I had missed picking up a coat hanger, of all things.

Deciding to give him a hand, I started to look around as well, even though I knew there was nothing of value in this room. Strange...wasn't something supposed to happen here? We were supposed to hear Eddie and Laura talking, but everything was pretty quiet right now.

I almost jumped when I saw sudden movement to my left; it took me a moment to realize that I was just seeing my reflection in a dusty mirror on the wall.

Strange. I was in hell, and yet I didn't even look affected. My long, curly brown hair was slightly messy from lying unconscious on the lake's shore, and my skin was a little paler than usual, but other than that I looked pretty normal. My AC/DC t-shirt looked a little out of place, though.

I smiled to myself, a little nervously, and suddenly the intensity of my own brown eyes unnerved me. I had the feeling that someone else was staring back at me through that mirror.

The sound of James approaching broke me out of my reverie, and I turned away with a jerk. Nothing had been there...my paranoia was getting to me again.

"There isn't anything here," I remarked with a shrug, trying to hide the fact that I'd just had a minor episode.

He nodded, opening his mouth to say something, but then he paused. "...Do you smell that?"

My lips tugged down in a slight frown. "Yeah." I was glad I wasn't hungry, because the distinct smell of pizza was suddenly in the air.

"But how..." James trailed off, because suddenly we heard voices.

"_So what'd you do? Robbery, murder?"_

A little girl's voice...that was definitely Laura.

"_Nah, nothing like that," _Eddie's muffled voice came. I shuddered; we would have to kill him later, wouldn't we?

"_Hah! You're nothin' but a gutless fatso!" _Laura scoffed.

At this point, James and I exchanged glances. He nodded to me, approaching the second door out of this room.

"_Whadda you have to say that for?" _Eddie asked, a hint of a whine in his tone.

"_I thought you said the cops were after you."_

"_No, I ran 'cause I was scared. I don't know what the cops are doing."_

Eddie...I wished we didn't have anything to do with him. Most of the other people we'd meet in this town would be more dangerous than helpful.

Speaking of which...where the hell was Maria? Sure, she was just a figment of James' imagination, but still...it didn't look like he'd seen anyone like her around.

"_But if you did something bad, why didn't you say you were sorry?" _Laura asked innocently, her normally bratty tone fading for a moment. Then she seemed to hesitate.

"_Well...I guess I run away a lots too," _she admitted.

"_It's no good. They wouldn't listen. Nobody will ever forgive me."_

I had to abandon my troubling train of thought about Maria, because James had opened the door to the next room. I followed in shortly after; we walked out from behind the counter, approaching where Eddie sat.

Almost instantly, I didn't like him. Maybe my impression was influenced by my prior knowledge of him, but I had a feeling I wouldn't like him either way. He was overweight and sitting slightly hunched over; his almost childish clothing style and his very posture hinted at the insecurity buried within him. I could see sweat stains on his back and under his arms, and the dirty blond hair that showed from beneath his cap looked about as greasy as the pizza he was eating.

And he wondered why people picked on him...okay, maybe that was a bit of a cruel thought. I had an itching feeling that that kind of thinking would get my brains blown out later on.

"Eddie," James said, getting the man's attention.

Eddie looked turned and looked at us over one shoulder, squinting at the light coming from James' pocket flashlight. James reached up and turned it off.

"Oh...um, yer..."

"James. We met in the apartment building," James said. He gestured to me after a moment. "This is Brittany."

"Yeah, uh...nice to meet'cha," Eddie said awkwardly, staring at me.

I didn't care much for the way he looked at me; I wasn't sure why, but his eyes seemed to darken at the sight of me. Maybe he sensed the dislike I had for him. Hopefully it was just my imagination acting up again.

James frowned when Eddie didn't say anything more. "...Are you alone here, Eddie?"

"Um, no..." Eddie said after a second, and the upward inflection he placed on the last word betrayed his hesitation.

I watched a green bowling ball roll towards us, and we all looked up to see Laura standing near the door.

"Bye-bye!" She said, smirking as if this was some sort of game. With that, she slipped out the door.

"Wait! Come back!" James called, but to no avail. He ran forward a few steps, then turned to look at Eddie. "Eddie! Aren't you coming?"

"Huh? Go after Laura? But why...?"

"Laura? Is that her name?" James asked.

"That's what she said," Eddie said with a shrug, before taking another bite of his pizza slice.

James' eyes narrowed with frustration and anger, and he turned to Eddie once more.

"This town is full of monsters! How can you just--"

"James, forget about it," I interrupted him, feeling uncomfortable in Eddie's presence. "We're going to lose her if we stick around."

I tried to ignore his statement about the monsters, and how every single word uttered here was almost identical to what had been said in the game. I had the distinct feeling of being trapped, and had to shake it off.

After a second, James nodded and gestured for me to follow him. He cast a final glare of disapproval at Eddie before we ran out the door together.

"Damn," James muttered as we emerged out into the fog once more. I understood how he felt; it would be near-impossible to find someone in this setting. It was difficult to even see shadows.

Shit, how _were _we going to find Laura? Maria had helped James out in the game, but I obviously wouldn't have the keys to the back door of Heaven's Night. But since Maria never actually existed, maybe the door would be unlocked? Still, I thought she had been a manifestation of the town, so...

For the first time, I did _not _appreciate how puzzling everything here was. I had been under the impression that every person who entered Silent Hill in the second game saw a different version of it. Why, then, did I see the town _exactly _the way James saw it? The monsters that James saw were physical manifestations of the different aspects of his psyche; theoretically, I shouldn't be able to see them. But I had the feeling that I would soon enough...

"There!" James said abruptly, as we saw a shadow disappear around the corner.

We ran after her, but I couldn't tell if we were even close because of the fog. After passing through the gate to a chain link fence, we started jogging down the alley towards the strip club.

"Who the hell _is _that girl?" I asked, simply because it would look suspicious if I started talking about her like I knew her.

"I don't know," James replied. "But she knows something about Mary. We have to find her!"

It didn't take long for us to reach the dead end, and for James to discover that there was no way we could follow her through the crack between buildings. I took a peek myself to see if I could slip through, but immediately shook my head. I was claustrophobic, and I'd probably have a panic attack if I got stuck in there.

"Maybe there's a way through here," James remarked, approaching the door to Heaven's Night. He reached out and tried the doorknob; I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach when the door didn't open.

"No good," James muttered. "It's locked."

Well, that was it. Our progress had come to a screeching halt, and now we were stuck here. There was no other way to Brookhaven Hospital; the road next to the bowling alley was blocked off, and I was pretty sure the opposite end of that road was blocked as well. Besides, I really didn't want to trek through the apartments just to check that last option.

"Well, any other ideas?" I asked, walking up to his side. However, when I approached the door, it swung open a bit.

I raised my eyebrows, frowning. "...Locked, huh?" I glanced over at James, who looked bewildered.

"But I just—" He faltered, reaching out and trying the doorknob again. It turned easily. "...Never mind."

"Okay then," I mumbled, shrugging. But I couldn't help but feel troubled. I had heard the doorknob rattle when James tried it the first time; it _had _been locked. So why...?

Giving up, I pulled the door open fully and we slipped inside. James turned on his flashlight, and the room was dimly illuminated. There wasn't really anything of interest, except for a few crates that I suspected contained alcohol. After giving the area a cursory glance, James trudged up the stairs, with me following closely behind.

The first door we tried led to the main room of the strip club. As I remembered, there was a bar on one wall, while the stage was almost directly in front of us. I noted with mild amusement that James looked a little uncomfortable. Probably because I was here with him, and I didn't exactly parade myself around like Maria tended to do.

"A strip club. Awesome," I remarked sarcastically, and then glanced over at the bar. "I could seriously use a drink right now."

"I don't think now is the time," James said, seeming to relax a little. "Besides, you're underage."

"Sorry, Dad," I smirked slightly, before walking further into the room and looking around. I felt a lot more comfortable here, oddly enough; it was probably because this had been a monster-free area in the game.

"Any sign of her?" James asked after a moment. "If the door was unlocked, she might've gone through here."

"For the sake of her psychological well-being, I should hope not," I remarked, looking up at the nude posters on the wall with raised eyebrows.

"There's another door over there," I reluctantly said after a moment, pointing to it. "We'd might as well move on."

"Yeah," James agreed. "Let's go."

Next stop, Brookhaven Hospital...and I knew my nightmare had only just begun.

----

**A/N: Very slight humor at the end...but it's kind of impossible to incorporate much humor into Silent Hill. XD Anyway, this chapter was...sort of eventful? Brit has a rusty pipe now, hurray! Let's have her fight Pyramid Head now--okay, not really. I want this story to be longer than four chapters. XD**

**Monsters will show up next chapter, so look forward to that. I've just been trying to pace this...y'know, the gradual descent into "OH DEAR GOD I'M GONNA DIE."**

**I hope no one's too upset about the lack of Maria in this story. Btw...can anyone else figure out what that means? XD **

**So! Please review? ;D I'll give you...some of Eddie's pizza! Yeah!**

**Next time: Evil nurses of doom!**


	4. Enter Brookhaven Hospital

**A/N: Yes, it's an update! :D I was pleasantly surprised to see how many positive reviews I got for this fic! Thanks a lot, guys, you keep me going. **

**It seems you've all at least somewhat noticed how Maria's absence is significant...;D that will be addressed soon, I assure you. As for this chapter...at last, we delve into the dreaded hospital! The tension continues to build. I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm trying to incorporate the gradual descent into utter insanity. As they do in the game, the surroundings will continue to deteriorate and become worse and worse as time goes on; I'm going to try and increase the tension on an emotional level, too. We'll see how OC Brit and James' interactions change as their journey continues. :D**

**Anyway, tl;dr. Hospital, bad stuff happens. Let's get on with the chapter, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own James, Silent Hill, or the psychotic nurses.**

**----**

We exited out the other door to the club, heading down the staircase and moving through the short alleyway. It wasn't long before we were out on the street again. Since the road was blocked off to our left, we turned right. I could already see the outline of Brookhaven through the fog. Oh, God...why did it have to be so close?

Brookhaven Hospital. Even in the game, it had been my own personal hell. Silent Hill 2 had been the first I'd ever played of the series, so I hadn't anticipated having to go through the whole building twice. Now I had played through the place so many times that it was a breeze to me, but I had a feeling it wouldn't make any difference once I set foot in there.

My only advantage was that I had the layout of the hospital memorized...that was, if it didn't randomly change on me. Silent Hill seemed to like doing that every time you built up a sense of self-confidence.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I gripped the pipe tightly. Part of me wished James had forked over the gun, but I would probably have ended up shooting him in an attempt to kill a monster.

James started. "Did you see that? I think that was her!" He said, looking to me for a minute, and then back in the direction of the hospital.

Although I hadn't seen anything due to my inattention, I immediately nodded. "Yeah, she was definitely heading in there. Let's go."

We ran forward, the hospital looming closer and closer with our every step. The mere outline of it slowly grew more defined, until I could see windows that were boarded over from the inside. My stomach lurched sickeningly as I continued to notice how this was _exactly _the way I remembered it.

In a few seconds, we were standing in front of the pathway that led to the doors.

James frowned, reading the sign. "Brookhaven Hospital..."

The doors were right there. This was the moment of truth; I knew for sure that those damned nurses were in that hospital, waiting. I experienced one last, wild feeling of hope and desperation; maybe I wouldn't see them, maybe they wouldn't exist in _my _Silent Hill!

I hadn't done anything wrong. James had killed Mary, Angela had killed her father, and Eddie was a total nutcase. Laura was innocent, and she just saw a normal town, didn't she? Just like I did! I had to be like Laura. I wasn't _like _the others. There was no reason for me to be here!

James was walking toward the doors. He turned on his flashlight in anticipation of the coming darkness, and opened the door. I followed him very closely as we moved into the musty gloom of the hospital.

We weren't three steps into the building when the radio exploded into static, and my heart stopped.

A single figure met the flashlight's beam. It stood stock still in the brightness, its shadow exaggerated and about as disfigured as the creature itself. All I could hear was the static and the thing's wet, ragged breathing.

I couldn't move. A terror more thick and suffocating than the fog outside had settled over me, and even breathing took a conscious effort.

Bubble Head Nurse.

It stared at us; though I couldn't quite make out eyes through the folds of flesh on its face, I had the very distinct feeling that it knew we were there. The nurse held a pipe quite similar to my own, and I could see that it was caked with something I couldn't bring myself to describe. Its head was tilted as if in inquiry, but the unnatural angle at which it was tilted suggested a broken neck.

My dumbstruck examination was cut short as the nurse lurched forward, sending my train of thought to a screeching halt. It let out a low gurgling sound in reaction to our presence and its head bobbed with every clumsy step, the neck set at a sickening right angle to the body.

The monster was alarmingly close, and the next few seconds were a blur. James had pulled out the handgun without my realizing, and was now firing shots into the creature. I was choking on my own fear. All I could do was fall backwards against the doors, watching in complete shock as the top of the nurse's head was blown off. I watched the thing's bloodstained hat fall to the floor, felt the flecks of gore hit me and slide down my skin.

It let out a single, bloodcurdling shriek before falling to the ground and flailing wildly; James hurriedly strode up to it and delivered a final blow with his foot, smashing whatever was left that was keeping it alive. And then all was still once more.

My stomach seemed to curl in on itself. I pulled in a long, shaking breath of air, before slamming through the doors and plunging back outside into the fog. Tripping down the stairs, I quickly fell to my knees and vomited into the grass.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to stop. I heard the nurse's wet breathing in my mind, the sound of the gunshots firing, bullets tearing through rotting flesh. Tears streamed down my face. What the hell had I just seen?!

Hands on my shoulders. No, I didn't want him near me, he was a part of this madness. I was trapped in James' nightmare, and it was all his fault! Why, why...

"Get away," I choked, coughing up bile. He didn't budge; he just squeezed my shoulders lightly. An attempt to comfort me? Bullshit! This was his fault! He got me into this mess! If he hadn't killed his fucking wife...

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, shoving him away. He backed off, putting his hands up slowly to show that he wasn't about to approach again. Shivering, I retched a few more times, sobbing and barely able to breathe.

After a few minutes I finally fell quiet, disgusted with the taste in my mouth and with my utter vulnerability. But I couldn't comprehend what I had just seen. If I accepted it, that meant I really was stuck here with James. This wasn't a version of Silent Hill crafted for me, because I had no major sins to repent for. This was James' mind, James' purgatory, and my reason for being here made no difference. I was just as damned as he was.

That was a Bubble Head Nurse I had seen, and it had been identical to its counterparts in the game. There were more of them in that hospital, and they were going to do their best to kill the two of us.

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The pipe was still clutched in my right hand. I had a weapon, and those things could be killed. Even if we didn't have Health Drinks to magically heal wounds, I still had a chance at living, and I was going to take it. I wasn't going to die here, not like this. What had I done to deserve this hell?!

"Brittany..." James murmured hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, gritting my teeth against the tears that threatened to come. "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm just...oh God, I'm so scared..."

"I know," he said softly in reply, and held a hand out to help me up.

Grasping his hand and letting him pull me to my feet, I attempted to compose myself. I wanted to get away from the smell of my vomit; it was making me feel sick again. But to go back in _there, _see that thing again...

James reached into the small pack he carried—I noticed for the first time that this was a deviation from the game—and drew out, to my surprise, a bottle of Poland Spring. Unscrewing the cap, he offered it to me. I grabbed it and took a long drink, before remembering that clean water might be limited around here. Giving him a hesitant but grateful smile, I handed the bottle back to him.

"Feeling better?" He asked me after a few seconds. I wondered if he resented how I was holding him back, but I found myself unable to read his expression.

I laughed without humor, feeling utterly helpless. "No. But I don't think I have anything left to throw up, at least."

"I'm sorry." Apparently now it was his turn to apologize. He sighed, gazing out in the direction of the road. "I don't know why this town brought you here...but I don't mean to drag you into this."

"I...don't really have any other option, do I?" I said, gripping the pipe tightly. "I can't just wait outside...it's not safe out here, either." I remembered the corpse we'd seen.

"I won't let those things hurt you," James said, his blue eyes sincere.

I averted my gaze. He couldn't promise me anything, not in this place. As much as I wanted to believe him, as much as I wanted to place my faith in him...I couldn't. I'd never survive here if I relied on him to protect me.

"What _was _that...that..." I trailed off, desperate, but already knowing the answer. Maybe I was stalling. Even I couldn't tell at this point.

He shook his head, looking back at the hospital doors. "I don't know. But Laura's in there."

"Yeah," I nodded weakly, and bit my lip hard. I really, really didn't want to go back in there...

He didn't say anything in reply, simply watching me. It took me a minute or so of slow, heavy breathing to gather my resolve. Grasping the comforting metal of the pipe with both hands, I let out one final breath.

"All right," I said quietly. "I'm ready...as ready as I'm gonna get."

James nodded, and we headed back for the doors. This was it...one last breath before the inevitable plunge.

We opened the doors, and the hospital swallowed us up once more.

The smell of blood instantly hit me. Despite the fact that I had already emptied my stomach, I almost started retching again. The body of the nurse, thankfully, was unmoving. It was dead, without a doubt. I realized with quite a bit of discomfort that we would have to go around the corpse in order to continue onward.

"Listen," James murmured solemnly to me, looking over to make sure I was all right. "When they're close by, the radio acts up." He indicated the radio he carried, and I nodded in understanding.

The static...it was both a blessing and a curse. Instead of providing a sense of reassurance, it only caused my stomach to lurch at the prospect of impending danger. Every time I heard static...those things would be coming for us.

James began to move forward, towards the body of the nurse.

"Hold up," I said weakly, and he looked back at me. I reached up to the bulletin board on the wall to my left, tugging at the map that I knew was there.

He blinked, and then came over to pull off the map and examine it. After a moment, he folded it up, satisfied.

"Good," he said with a nod. "We're probably going to need that."

"Any idea where we should look?" I asked feebly, wanting to stall our progress.

James frowned. "Anywhere, I guess...I don't know what a little girl would want to do in a hospital."

Unable to come up with any other reasons to hang around in one spot, I pulled in yet another breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to calm my nerves. The only way I could think of to get out of this hell was to follow James through it. If I ensured that he survived through this and learned what he was meant to learn, he might be able to leave the town peacefully and take me with him.

So in a way, stalling was only prolonging the nightmare. If I could just tough it out...

Gripping the pipe, I stepped forward and looked around. The bobbing of the light behind me indicated that James was following. We moved to step around the body of the nurse, which did not twitch or revive itself as I'd irrationally feared.

I headed to the first place I always headed to in the game—the reception office. As expected, the door was unlocked. I pulled it open, and it led to a very dusty but familiar room.

Moving to the side to let James in, I turned to examine everything in the room. As I remembered, there were a few bookcases lining the walls, as well as a desk near the center of the room. I sifted through some of the papers on the desk, but all I could find was a bunch of records and medical jargon.

"Patient records..." James muttered, examining some of the papers himself. His brow was furrowed slightly.

"Well, this is a hospital," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He shook his head. "Look."

Frowning, I moved to his side and leaned in to examine the paper he was holding.

_[Joseph Barkin]_

_His illness seems to be rooted in the fact that he believes he is guilty for causing his daughter's death. His symptoms suggest a psychotic break and paranoid delusions. Normally calm, but has a tendency toward violence when excited._

Ah, good ol' Joseph. Who could forget that crazy box of his? James didn't seem to realize we would soon be very acquainted with this man and his insanity.

"Huh," I shrugged. "So what's your point?"

He shuffled through some other papers, showing me the files of Joshua Lewis and Jack Davis, as well as some other patients.

"Don't you notice a trend?" He asked, looking troubled.

"They're all batshit?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Yeah, I got that." Then, after a second, I nodded. "Oh...I see what you're driving at."

"We're in a mental hospital," James said, confirming what I already knew.

"What a surprise," I said sarcastically. "But what would Laura want to do in a friggin' mental hospital?"

James sighed, turning to the next door. "Come on. I don't think there's anything else in here."

Nodding, I followed him into the next room, which was more cramped than the one before. I found myself coughing because of the sheer amount of dust in the air. It looked like this place had been abandoned for a while.

There wasn't much else in this room, either, besides the key we'd need later on. James took notice of this instantly, leaning over to examine the items on the desk next to the typewriter. Really, who used a typewriter nowadays anyway? If I hadn't already known that this town was practically on a separate plane of existence, I really would think that no one had been here for years.

"Look at this," James gestured to me, and I moved to lean over his shoulder.

This time it was the journal left by the doctor, a typed report on what he called "the other side." A place that lies on the borders where reality and unreality intersect...a place where the patient mentioned could be happy. But if the doctor was speaking of the place I was thinking of, how could anyone possibly be happy there? If everything that happened in this town really was the invention of our own minds...was it possible to create a place where we could be happy?

But to live your life in a delusion...even that would be hell, wouldn't it.

James seemed about as deep in thought as me. I wondered what he was thinking.

"The other side..." he murmured.

"It's being invaded by the Otherworld," I muttered. "A world of someone's nightmarish delusions come to life."

"What?" James glanced over at me, frowning deeply. "What does that mean?"

I immediately shook my head, startled; I hadn't even realized I'd said it aloud.

"Just something I read somewhere," I replied with a shrug.

When he continued to look troubled, I stepped beside him and searched for a way to divert the attention from myself. I found it quickly enough.

"'I got the key from Joseph,'" I read, placing a finger over where the writing was. "'It's probably the key to that box.' Hey, wasn't Joseph one of those patients we read about?"

"I think so," James said, reaching down to pick up the Purple Bull Key. "...We should probably hang on to this."

"Might as well," I agreed.

After a few more seconds of examination, we were able to discern that there wasn't anything else worth looking at in the room. Oh...that meant we'd have to go back out into the hall, where the monsters lurked. Shit.

To my relief, the radio didn't act up when we headed back out the door to the reception office. The body of the nurse was still there, and so was the lingering stench of blood. But it was dead, just a pile of flesh. It couldn't hurt us.

My morbid curiosity got the better of me. I had to step forward and examine the thing more closely.

I saw James hesitate from the corner of my eye, as if he wanted to stop me. Maybe it would be better if he did. Regardless, I looked down at the nurse, cautiously nudging its head with my foot.

Instead of screeching and grabbing at me as I'd been fearing, its head simply lolled to one side. Dead, most definitely dead. I had so much trouble accepting it. How could such a thing have been living in the first place?

"...What _is _it?" I whispered, staring at its destroyed face. "Is it human? _Was _it human?"

"I don't know," James said from behind me. "I hope not. I can't imagine having to exist like that."

Unable to stand looking at the gore anymore, I turned away. "Yeah...there's no reason to dwell on it. Let's just get this over with..."

The rest of the doors on the first floor were either locked or broken. There was nothing else to examine down here. It only took James a few minutes to determine this fact, and upon discovering that the elevator was unusable, we headed immediately for the stairwell.

The stairs were as dark as the rest of the hospital; without James' flashlight, we'd probably be walking in pitch darkness. We walked up the first flight, and I felt the familiar sensation of panic resurfacing when the sound of static grew with every step. There were monsters ahead.

We stopped at the first door we came to. It was marked with the label '2F'.

James hesitated with his hand on the knob, looking back at me. "...Ready?"

I was sure that the way I blanched said otherwise, but I nodded nonetheless. He turned his attention back to the door, his other hand pulling out the gun. I held my pipe as if it were a lifeline.

The door opened outwards, and for one horrifying second it partially obscured our view of the hallway ahead. But then that second was over, and we were out in the hall, and the sound of feminine moans and shrieks surrounded us. One on either side of us. Oh, Christ.

Flashes of light illuminated the nurse I faced as James shot at the one behind me. I watched with an almost sick fascination as the thing's body twitched and convulsed, as it took a shuddering step in my direction. Fresh terror bloomed in the pit of my stomach at the close proximity to this creature. I could see every detail of it, from the pale skin of its shapely legs to the dark shadow of the veins running down through its partially exposed breasts. It was a horrid mockery of a human woman.

I was broken out of my reverie as the nurse abruptly swung the pipe it held, and I barely managed to dodge. I felt adrenaline start to kick in as I heard the blunt weapon whistle just past my ear. All it would take was one blow to the head—one blow to the head, and it could very well kill me.

But that fact would apply to that thing, too, wouldn't it? Without a second thought, I retaliated and swung my own pipe like a baseball bat. The nurse let out a wild scream as my weapon connected with its head. I felt a sickening crunch, and knew I had smashed its skull. Blood sprayed in a frantic gush.

I paused, trembling, as the nurse stumbled back into the wall. Its spasms continued for a moment or two, but then I nearly let out a scream as it suddenly lunged for me again. How the hell was it still standing?!

Almost as a reflex, I immediately swung my pipe again, this time hitting the nurse on the shoulder. I swung again and again, feeling body parts break beneath my weapon, ignoring the nurse's almost human screams. My own grunts hardly even seemed human to me, and it felt as if I'd connected with some sort of primal instinct within me; even after the creature fell to the ground, I continued to swing.

Even after its flailing died down, I swung and swung, until I heard the wet smack of the pipe on destroyed and bloody flesh. Stepping forward, I kicked the corpse hard to ensure that it was indeed a corpse.

When I noticed how quiet it was, and realized that the horror was over, I heard myself let out a small whimper. I backed away from the body and nearly screamed when I ran into James.

"Shh," James murmured in an attempt to calm me down. "It's all right. It's over."

"I know," I said shakily, staring at the gore that covered my pipe. "I know."

----

**A/N: Oh God, those nurses scared the living shit out of me the first time I encountered them in the game. :P it's the way they convulse, I don't know...or maybe it's their stupid screams. Ughhh. And they killed me a lot, too, because I sucked at fighting when I first played. XD**

**Soooo...I have a feeling the hospital's going to take up a lot of chapters. Stupid otherworld...oh, speaking of which, I hope you appreciated my SH1 reference, lol.**

**Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. Review, and I'll love you forever and ever!**

**Next time: I'll be fine...it's just a hangover.**


	5. Horrifying Realization

**A/N: Hi guys! Once again, thanks for all the awesome reviews. You're awesome. :D And now it's time for another update! I hope you're happy, I stayed up past my bedtime for this. XD**

**Well, I'll get straight to the chapter, then. Enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill or any of its characters.**

**----**

"Nngh…I'm sorry, James."

I had the shakes, and it was going to take me a few minutes to calm down. Rather than letting me collapse in the middle of the hallway where we were vulnerable, he had taken me to the closest open room he could find. I was currently sitting in a chair, the palm of one hand pressed against my forehead.

Killing the nurse had been bad enough, but I had seen it happen before. I really would've been okay after a few seconds. What really got me, though…was the blood spatter now drying on my clothes. I looked like I had just committed a mass murder. The smell of gore was nauseating and now I couldn't just leave it behind.

"Don't worry about it," James said quietly, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and stared at him helplessly, before turning my head to gaze around the room. Attempting such an action before had made me dizzy, but now I was relatively okay. Well, that was a step.

The room was a little bit cramped, but I was able to recognize it even though James' form was blocking my view. Those were lockers behind him. And the desk I was sitting next to…

"Ow!" James winced, recoiling from something.

"You all right?" I asked dully, reaching out to grab the teddy bear he'd touched.

"…Yeah," he replied, frowning. I plucked out the bent needle, dropping it in his hand. He took a moment to examine it, shaking his head.

"What's a needle doing in a place like that?" James wondered aloud.

I shrugged. "What's a teddy bear doing here in the first place?"

Holding the bear in my hands, I examined it. It was a cute thing, though it looked relatively old and dusty. I'd been half expecting there to be blood smeared around its mouth like Robbie the Rabbit; the bear had a missing eye, but at least that was a little less ominous.

"Maybe it belongs to Laura," James suggested quietly.

"In that case, I'd tell her to stop playing with bent needles," I replied, dismissing the idea. I dropped the bear back on to the desk, where it fell limply to one side. "Well, whatever… I didn't see her carrying it, so I wouldn't worry about it."

The blond didn't reply, but I was sure I would have seen a nod of assent if I had been looking at him. From the corner of my eye, I saw him pull up the only other chair in the room and take a seat.

"Are you feeling any better?" James asked after a moment, looking at me.

Feeling guilty, I forced myself to meet his eyes. "…Yeah," I lied. Holding him back wouldn't do either of us any good.

He looked away. "Let's wait here for a few more minutes. I'm a little tired, too."

At that, I couldn't help but send him a grateful look. He wouldn't have lied if he hadn't been concerned about me. I still didn't want to hold him back, but knowing he didn't mind having me around comforted me a great deal. He was the only human being around here I was willing to trust, after all.

"…You think we're really safe hiding away here?" I asked after we were quiet for a moment.

He nodded. "For the most part. They can't smell you when you're in a different room."

"I sure hope so," I muttered, suppressing a shudder. Then another thought came to me, and curiosity pushed most of the fear to the back of my mind. "Where is this place, anyway?"

James frowned at me. "What do you mean?"

"Silent Hill," I explained. "What state are we even in?"

"New Hampshire," he replied, giving me a strange look. "You didn't know?"

"Jesus Christ." I shook my head, shocked. Hundreds of miles away from home… "I didn't really think…how the hell…?"

"Brittany." James' voice cut me off, snapping me out of my mumblings. "Where are you from?"

"New York," I said quietly. "Upstate. Near Lake Ontario."

The man fell into silence at that, the shock on his face seeming to reflect my own.

"I didn't come here on a road trip," I said in a flat voice. "I woke up on the shore of the lake. Last thing I remember, I was driving home from school. For a while I thought maybe I had taken a wrong turn, but…"

"That couldn't be possible," James finished for me, a thoughtful look on his face.

"My car's gone, and how I ended up unconscious is a mystery to me…" I gave up, sighing.

New Hampshire…so that was where this town was. It was kind of funny; before all this, if I had found out about any town named Silent Hill, I would've wanted to visit just for kicks. So I could tell all of my friends that I'd vacationed in Silent Hill. So I could jokingly claim that I'd met Heather at the amusement park, and that I'd stayed in James' room at the hotel.

Well, if I ever made it home, I could most likely make the latter claim. I probably wouldn't find it as amusing, though. Funny how life works sometimes.

"This town is a vacation spot," James said, following my train of thought without realizing it. "…Well, it used to be."

"You came here before?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

He nodded. "With Mary. It was a lot nicer then."

"I'll bet," I agreed. "Are you from around here?"

"Hampton. It's further south."

"Near the Maine border," I said, smiling slightly. "I've been there a million times."

"Hampton Beach?" Now James smiled, too. "Nice place, but it gets old when you live right down the street."

"I'd take Hampton over this place any day." I grinned, but then it faded soon after. This place. We were still stuck here, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

James probably saw my face fall, because he looked over his shoulder in the direction of the door. He turned back to me, sobering. "As soon as we're done here…"

"I don't need to be told twice," I said, seeing the slight guilt in his eyes. "Besides…it's not like I could just walk out if I wanted to. If people could enter and leave this place freely, the whole world would know about it."

He shook his head slowly. "…Sometimes I wonder if this is all just some crazy dream."

That nearly caused me to shudder. In a way, he was sort of right…half of this wasn't even real, was it? It was all in his head, but somehow it could still hurt him…agh, Silent Hill was always confusing. Rather than puzzling over the details of it, I decided to just glare at him.

"Jaaames," I sang, leaning forward to pinch the back of his hand. "I'm real. _Real."_

"Ow," he said, recoiling the same way he had with the teddy bear. Holding his hands up in defeat, he said, "Okay, I got it."

I smiled, satisfied. "Good. Either way, I think we—"

_Feel how warm I am._

_I'm here for you, James. See? I'm real._

"Brittany?" James was watching me, puzzled. "What is it?"

"…Oh, ah, nothing," I said, feeling off-balance for a moment. "I just spaced out for a minute there."

Screw you, Maria. I _was_ real. I might not have had any place here, but I knew that much. I was just stuck in a video game. I was more real than this place.

"Anyway…" I steeled my resolve, knowing we'd already spent long enough here. At least I felt a lot better now. "Why don't we check out this room? Is there anything else interesting?" If I remembered right, it was in one of these locker rooms…

James stood up, and I did the same. He walked around for a second or two, trying the lockers.

"Looks like they're lock—" He stopped abruptly when he opened the final locker and a shotgun fell out, clattering on to the floor.

I couldn't stop myself from jumping at the sudden noise, but a rush of a feeling I couldn't quite define went through me. More weapons. More protection. Those were my survival instincts kicking in again, I could tell.

"A shotgun in a hospital," I commented with a pleased little smile. "If I hadn't already seen the nurses around here, I'd think this was strange."

Apparently James didn't mind having an extra weapon or two either, because he was smiling a bit as well. He never really smiled a full smile, I noticed. In fact, James wasn't much for expressions at all. He wandered Silent Hill in a state of abnormal calm. Then again, he obviously wasn't in his normal state of mind; he'd just killed his wife not too long ago. Even if the memory of it was suppressed, he had to sense something was very wrong. I could see it in his somber eyes.

He bent down, picking up the gun and slinging it over one shoulder with a strap that was attached to it. Then he turned to me, pulling the handgun from his belt.

"You think you can shoot a gun?" He asked, though I could tell he wasn't expecting much.

I raised my eyebrows. "Depends. Are you any good at dodging bullets?"

Surprisingly enough, I managed to get another smile out of him at that. Well, it looked like surly ol' James did have a sense of humor somewhere in there.

"Fair enough," he said, but pushed the gun into my hand regardless. "We're about on the same level."

"No experience at all?" I asked curiously.

"I went to a shooting range once," he said, causing me to snort.

"We're just a couple of clueless people in way over our heads, aren't we?" I murmured, shaking my head.

The minute the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted it. We were suddenly reminded of where we were, and the danger we were in. My heart rate increased, James went back to being morose, and the thick tension settled in so quickly that it seemed as if it had never left.

"…I'll take the pipe," he said, "if you're willing to use the handgun."

I didn't answer, but handed the weapon to him willingly enough. In the back of my mind, I was remembering something. The handgun was the best weapon to use against the nurses. The pipe was effective, but it put you in range of an attack. The gun, though…

But was James being in more danger any better? No…James was better at this than I was. Besides, he survived in the game, right?

I lifted the gun in my hands, staring at it with a kind of fearful respect. I had never held a gun in my life…and this one was loaded. Death at my fingertips. The handgun was a relatively weak weapon in-game, but after seeing James in action with it, I had a hard time believing that.

"Hey…" I said tentatively, turning the weapon over. "How do I…?"

"Here." James was fumbling around in his pack. I heard some jingling, and no, it wasn't spare change in there. What he pulled out was several packs of bullets, and now he was handing them to me. I didn't know if they would all fit in my pockets, but I guess it would be a good idea for me to carry some.

He took the gun from me and showed me how to eject and load the magazine, as well as the correct firing stance; of course, he couldn't exactly demonstrate, but I got the idea. It wasn't like he was a professional, either. He was probably just telling me what he learned in that shooting range he went to. I hoped that visit had been recent. I didn't want to have some crazy accident with this gun…though I guess that was unavoidable.

Once James was relatively confident that I at least somewhat knew what I was doing with the gun, we decided to continue onward. I had shoved fifteen bullets in each pocket; since the gun held ten rounds, that meant I had forty in total. I continuously told myself not to lose track of that number. James carried more in his bag, but I didn't exactly want to run out in the middle of a conflict. Hell, just reloading the magazine for me would take at least thirty seconds. I had to make the ten shots count.

We left the locker room, heading out into a silent hallway. The first door we tried was directly across the hall, and the label beside the door read 'Men's Locker Room – Staff Only.' It was unlocked and we let ourselves in.

There wasn't much to see in this room besides lockers. There was a poster of a woman in a skimpy bikini taped to the inside of one locker door, but I only saw James give it a cursory glance before moving on. Good boy, James.

It looked like something else had caught his eye. Well, there was one thing in this room that kind of stuck out. It was a bloody looking lab coat, hung up on the corner of a locker door. James was frowning at it. He seemed ready to move on, so I walked up and instantly reached in the pocket. My hand met cold metal—bingo.

"Voila," I said, dangling the key in the air for him to see. Then I looked more closely at the tag. "It says 'Exam Room.' Any idea where that is?"

James pulled out the map, examining it for a few seconds. Then he folded it back up, turning to me. "First floor. It's next to that reception office we went into."

"Should we go?" I asked hopefully.

"Let's finish this floor first."

Damn. My face fell, and I forced myself to take a deep breath. The hallways just outside of this door were quiet, but…that long hallway across from the stairwell would be a different story, if my memory served me right.

I stuck the key in my left pocket, waiting by the door as James finished his investigation of the small room. When he was satisfied, we headed back out into the hall.

The hallway actually wasn't as quiet as it seemed at first. Though the radio wasn't really acting up, I could hear sounds coming from elsewhere in the hospital. For the most part, it was the occasional feminine scream. My arms broke out in goosebumps.

There was also the faint sound of breathing coming from somewhere, but I couldn't exactly figure that one out. There were a lot of sounds in the game that existed for the sole purpose of being scary, and weren't related to anything at all. I had a feeling things wouldn't be quite the same here. This wasn't some sort of thrill ride.

We stayed close to each other as we walked cautiously down the hallway, listening carefully for any sign of danger. All of the doors we came to were jammed or locked.

"The elevator's not working either," James said with a frown.

"I don't know if I'd be willing to trust an elevator in this place," I said honestly with a shudder.

All of the elevators in Silent Hill 2 were safe for some odd reason…but I still didn't trust them here. Hell, if a monster waltzed up and cut the cables, we'd plummet to our deaths. And a very informative Mythbusters episode had shown me that you couldn't save yourself in a plummeting elevator car by jumping up before you hit the ground, which meant we would in fact be very screwed. Damn physics.

James seemed to agree with my remark. He turned away from the elevator door, shining his flashlight towards where the entrance to the Day Room was.

A stark white figure shined in the light, frozen in place. The legs on its top half were bent over backwards at grotesque angles, creating a menacing shadow on the wall that was much larger than itself. I had to muffle my own scream, accidentally backing into James in my attempt to get away.

It was standing perfectly still, and shined in the light almost as if it were wet. So this was my first encounter with a Mannequin monster…the static remained strangely quiet, most likely because the creature hadn't moved at all yet.

It looked wrong. I couldn't think of any other word to describe the thing. Two pairs of legs, melded together at the waist…how could a thing like that exist? How could any of this exist?

A hand squeezed my shoulder lightly.

"Don't make any noise," James murmured quietly. "We're going to move past it. It won't attack if we move slowly."

I nodded, trying to quell my shaking as I moved cautiously forward. The circle of light in front of me bobbed as James did the same. The monster didn't move—it wouldn't, not until we came in range of a kick. I wasn't about to give it that opportunity.

After a minute or two of moving like this, we managed to slip past the monster and move back down the hallway. My heart was already pounding in my ears. Maybe that was a good thing—the adrenaline was already flowing, preparing me for the nurses that were bound to be ahead.

The last place we had to check was a pair of double doors that were just past the entrance to the stairwell. I took a deep breath as we approached them, holding the gun tightly in one clammy hand. James and I each took hold of one door each, looked at each other, and pushed them open at the same time.

The hallway we came into was just as dark and musty as the one before. We stood next to a clutter of chairs and gurneys that were piled against one door, as we looked out towards the blackness of the long hall. The static emitting from James' radio began to steadily increase in volume. I raised the handgun, placing a trembling index finger loosely over the trigger.

There was a moan, and a nurse stumbled into the flashlight's beam. Then another came. And another. My eyes widened, and I started to back away. They were attracted to the light! They were all going to come at once!

Rather than waiting to fight them head on, I reinforced my grip on the gun and pulled the trigger. The recoil caught me by surprise, but I managed to keep the weapon steady. In my panicked first shot, the bullet missed them completely. I pulled the trigger again, and clipped the side of one nurse's head. It shrieked and began to hobble faster towards me.

Now at a closer range, I shot for a third time and the impact sent it flying into the one behind it. The second nurse stumbled backwards, before pushing the wounded one away and heading straight for me. It swung out with its pipe, and I took several steps back to avoid it. The nurse's clumsy swing hit the third one in the face, causing it to bowl over backwards and convulse on the floor. As I shot at the oncoming nurse, James moved in to finish off the two that were already down.

I managed to get in two more clean shots, but only at point blank range. I was a terrible shot, especially in this dark atmosphere. As a result, I was drenched in even more blood now. I was starting to get past the point of caring.

"Are they…dead?" I asked after a moment, lowering the gun with a shaky hand. My arms ached from fighting the recoil in order to hold the weapon steady.

"Looks like it," James said, catching his breath. The shotgun hung from his shoulder, unused; I was glad he knew to conserve ammunition. We would need the shotgun for some more powerful enemies later on.

Speaking of ammo…I ejected the handgun's magazine, checking how many bullets were left. I had used seven. My supply was down to thirty-three. Once I got down to twenty…I'd grab some more from James. In the meantime, I reloaded the magazine. Dammit…life would be so much easier if we could just find a couple of loaded clips instead of packs of individual bullets. It was such a time consuming pain in the ass to reload like this.

We didn't run into anything else in the hallway. There wasn't anything else of real interest here, anyway. We went through a couple of rooms and got assaulted a few times, but for the most part it was just a waste of time and energy. One thing we did manage to get, though, was the Lapis Eye key. Now we were one step closer to opening that box that we hadn't even encountered yet.

We also found two first aid kits, which would definitely be useful later. Too bad they weren't a cure for near-fatal wounds in real life. No, the most we would be fixing up here were cuts and scrapes. Anything else…well, I didn't want to think about that right now.

At long last, we headed back downstairs. No new nurses had appeared, to my relief; we had that particular part of the first floor to ourselves. I pulled the exam room key from my pocket, reaching out to unlock the door and let the both of us inside.

There was nothing interesting in the musty exam room. We soon moved through the next door into the doctor's lounge, investigating the larger room. I found a case of shotgun shells sitting on one table, and handed them to James. Doctors carrying shotgun ammo, huh…this hospital was fucked up.

"Look at this," James said, beckoning me over. There was a whiteboard on the wall. Ah, I remembered this.

_3rd floor patient wing hall – 7335_

"Hm…we should probably write that down," I remarked. Thankfully, I managed to find a working pen and paper on the table behind me. I tore a slip off the paper, scribbling down what the whiteboard said and shoving the scrap into my pocket.

"All right, then, should we head to the third floor?" I asked, looking over at James.

"Yeah," he agreed.

We headed back upstairs. The second we stepped out into the third floor hallway, a nurse moved from around the corner and attacked us. I was so startled that I wasted four bullets just on that one enemy. The nurse twitched on the ground, letting out those damned shrieks, attracting four more from the shadows at the other end of the hall. I nearly gasped when I saw a fifth limping along near the back of the group.

"James," I hissed, as we both moved towards the double doors of the patient wing hall without consciously thinking about it. "Seven-three-three-five."

The nurses drew closer. I heard four beeps and a click, and suddenly James had grabbed my arm and was pulling me along. The doors slammed behind us. James grabbed a broom, wedging the shaft between the door handles as a makeshift lock. The doors shook for a moment as the nurses attempted to get in, but they weren't nearly strong enough to make it through. It wasn't long before they lost interest and the blare of static faded.

I let out a heavy sigh of relief, especially when there didn't seem to be any monsters in this particular hall. Thank God for small favors.

James started down the hall, when suddenly I stopped behind him. He looked back. "What is it?"

I shook my head. All of a sudden, I felt dizzy. It was difficult to stand up, and my entire body was shaking. What was going on? I had been fine just a second ago…and now I was starting to feel a stabbing pain in my head and in the pit of my stomach. I let out a quiet groan, leaning back against the wall.

"I…I don't know…" I said quietly, placing a hand lightly over my mouth. "I feel so sick all of a sudden."

"Come on." James grabbed my arm, gently pulling me to the nearest open door. We moved into a very small room, and I was pushed backwards and forced to take a seat on a musty bed. The soft material comforted me a little, but I still couldn't get that feeling to go away.

"Dammit…" I swore to myself, staring at James' feet since the world would spin when I looked up. "I don't even know what it is this time. I swear, I really was okay just a second ago…"

James moved forward a bit, examining something that was on the small table next to the bed. A bloody key…the key to the roof, wasn't it? My muddled mind was having trouble recalling the details right now.

"Why don't you wait here for a bit?" James asked, pocketing the key. "I'm just going to check a few things out."

I shook my head, suddenly feeling frantic. The nervous feeling only made me want to throw up, though, and the frustration I suddenly felt made me want to cry.

"W-Wait, don't go. Don't just leave me here, James!"

He held his hands up, speaking softly and calmly. "Don't worry. I'll be back to check up on you, and it'll only be a few minutes."

"No," I said urgently. "You don't get it. Don't go, James, you can't—"

"You'll get hurt if you follow me around feeling like that. You're safe here. It's okay, I'll be right back," James said, and his hand was already on the doorknob.

"James!" I said, and my voice had elevated to a near yell. "James, you ass! Don't leave me alone here! WAIT!"

The door closed, and he was gone. I fell back on to the bed. Yes, I could follow him…but it was useless. He'd just push me back in here. He thought he knew what was best for me. He didn't know what was coming.

For two full minutes, I sat there and stared at a dark smudge on the wall, concentrating on nothing. I didn't want to think about how alone I suddenly was, but I knew it was inevitable.

My sickness passed during those two minutes. Suddenly I felt perfectly fine, with no explanation as to how I'd felt so horrible in the first place. I was starting to understand, though. Starting to understand all too well.

It had started in Rosewater Park, when I had been standing in that precise spot at that precise time. Then the back door to Heaven's Night had opened of its own accord when I approached it. And now, this…I felt sick enough to stay in the very same room she had stopped at in the game.

"Is that what I am?" I asked myself, feeling numb as the realization began to fully dawn on me. "Some sort of…Maria replacement?"

Fear hit the pit of my stomach in one powerful wave. A single shudder that was nearly as extreme as a convulsion ran through my body, and I clenched my fists tightly.

Maria.

_Maria._

There was only one thing I could think about now that I knew. I had been trying not to think about this particular creature since I realized I was in Silent Hill. I hadn't wanted to send myself into a panic attack. He was the one creature in this town that was impossible to kill…the one that could approach with no warning of static and kill with a single devastating blow. He was the most terrifying and imposing figure ever to roam this town.

Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head was going to kill me before we could leave this hospital.

My entire body was shaking uncontrollably now. I lost all control over my breathing, and started hyperventilating. I had to grab the pillow of the bed and shove my face into it in order to muffle my horrified screams.

Because in Maria's position…survival was utterly impossible.

----

**A/N: Well! Some of you had realized all of the Maria stuff already. But how is all of this going to pan out, then? ;D We'll see~ All in all, it sucks to be OC Brit, lol.**

**As for my random talk about guns in this chapter...though I did a Google search for some simple stuff, I really know nothing about firearms. XD Besides what I see in movies, which really doesn't count. So feel free to correct me on any dumb mistakes I made.**

**Anyway! Review, and I'll love you forever! :D**

**Next time: Running from fate. **


	6. No Escape

**A/N: So, this chapter's pretty short, but I figured I'd update. I already do massive chapters for another one of my fics, and I don't want this one to be like that too. XD I'll try to update more often with chapters around 2000-3000 words.**

**Anyway! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill.**

It took me a long ten minutes to bring myself back from the brink. I almost lost myself then; the only thing that saved me was the comforting weight of the gun I held in my hands. I had to stop myself from thinking too far ahead in the future. I couldn't think about all of the horrible things that were fated to happen to Maria.

The handgun…yes, that was what saved my sanity. It wasn't only because I knew that the gun was the only thing that could truly slow Pyramid Head down in a pinch; no, I wasn't about to place all my faith in that shaky knowledge. The handgun saved me because it gave me a choice. I could end it all now, if I wanted to. I could save myself from the horrors.

I didn't want to die, not really. I wanted to cling to hope. But just knowing there was that escape, no matter how much I disapproved of suicide…just knowing was enough.

No, before I jumped to the easy way out, the coward's choice, I was going to try to do this my own way. Now that I knew how dire the situation was, I wanted to escape the fate I'd been given. Since I knew what was supposed to happen, and what James was supposed to do, maybe I had a chance at avoiding the death scenes.

Maybe.

I took another deep breath, cradling the cold metal of the gun in my hands. I found myself staring at the bloody outline of the key that had once been on the table. The roof, the box, the Hangers, the Otherworld…

Once the hospital changed into its nightmare counterpart, the front door would be jammed. James was probably looking at those special treatment rooms right now, if he still wasn't dazed from being pushed off the roof.

Pushed off the…Christ, maybe I should—no. James would be okay; I was going to _die_ if I didn't do something.

I emptied my pockets and counted my bullets with shaking hands. Twenty-five left. Not a low number, but still just low enough to make me feel uncomfortable. How many bullets to kill a nurse? Two? Three? Enough to kill eight nurses at the least. Not enough to kill Pyramid Head. Never enough to kill Pyramid Head.

My hands were shaking almost too badly to place the bullets back in my pockets. I paused to take a deep breath, attempting to steady myself. Okay, okay. Next step.

There was a flashlight on my phone, but it was weak. It would have to do; it was better than walking in pitch darkness. It wasn't a clip-on. I would have to fire the gun with one hand. Low visibility, moderately low bullet count. Maybe four bullets to kill a nurse, then. No, I was just going to run.

I stood up, pulled out my phone, and checked the battery. It was at about seventy-five percent. If I used the flashlight, it'd probably last me an hour or two at the most. That should be more than enough time to get outside.

When I looked at the door, I nearly got the shakes again. Alone…I was all alone. Maybe I wasn't exactly safe with James, but his too-calm demeanor did help. It made a world of difference just hearing someone tell me that everything was going to be okay. Even if it was a lie.

The door opened with an ominous creak, and I made sure to shut it completely behind me so that I wouldn't be tempted to slip back in. A cautious examination with my phone's flashlight revealed nothing but an empty hallway. It had been empty when we entered it not too long ago, and it was still empty now.

The hallway was very quiet. My footsteps should have echoed, but they seemed oddly muffled. The air seemed too heavy and musty. I had noticed all of these things when I was with James, but now that I was alone, everything seemed intensified. It created a distinct sense of claustrophobia in me. It felt like the walls were pressing inwards.

I had to quiet my own breathing as I reached the double doors leading out into the other hall. Those nurses that had ganged up on us…were they still there? I almost didn't have enough courage to go through. But the broom James had barred the door with was gone, so I knew he had been here before me. That was enough to get me to push the doors open.

I was met with the stench of blood and gore, and saw the corpses immediately. They were scattered haphazardly across the floor, their limbs twisted at awkward angles. One of them was still twitching. I kicked at it in a squeamish reflex, and it stopped.

James hadn't killed all of them. I was able to tell this instantly just by making a quick count of the bodies; there were only three. That meant two others were lurking on this floor.

Just as I had this thought, I saw movement just down the hall, near the elevator. There was a small crack of light streaming through the boards that had been sloppily tacked across one of the windows, and I saw this light disappear and reappear. Something was moving in front of it.

As if I wasn't feeling afraid enough, suddenly the idea struck me that I didn't know for sure if it was a nurse or not. It could be _anything_ hidden in the darkness over there. And I couldn't move any closer to look, or I'd risk getting killed. The flashlight on my phone wasn't nearly powerful enough to illuminate what was over there. I could barely see two feet ahead of me.

Rather than stick around to see what the hell it was, I slipped over to the stairwell door and went through. My heart was pounding in my ears, and my breathing seemed far too loud. Now that I knew my real situation, now that I wasn't denying where I was anymore, all I could think about was _him_. Now every shadow I saw was Pyramid Head, every noise I heard was the screech of the Great Knife, every dead monster was his handiwork.

Paranoia ate at me. If he spotted me, nothing could restrain him. He could rip a door right off its hinges if he wanted to.

I couldn't help but glance back at the door behind me as I had this thought. I moved away from it, took a deep breath, and then began the descent down the narrow staircase. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any monsters on the stairs. I doubt they would have been coordinated enough to move up and down the steps.

Reaching the door marked 1F, I turned the knob and began to push it open. Immediately, I heard a loud clang and a moan, causing me to freeze up on the spot. A clammy hand reached through the crack I had created, the grey flesh touching my bare skin. I gasped loudly as I saw the nurse's head on the other side of the door, far too close to my own face. Panicking, I slammed the door shut directly on its arm.

A loud crack resonated through the stairwell as I broke the bone, and the nurse let out a disturbingly feminine wail. I heard the pipe it held clanging hard against the door again, but my hands were practically cemented to the knob of the door. The nurse's screams melded with my own as I opened the door and slammed it shut again, this time tearing the skin. Splinters of white bone jutted out of the monster's arm as blood poured out of the gash. The arm itself was hanging by nothing more than a flap of skin now.

I shoved the door open, pulled the gun from my belt, and fired four times into the darkness. My cell phone was nothing more than a spot of light, sitting on the floor where I had dropped it in my frenzy. The nurse continued to moan and wail as I hastily bent down to snatch up the device, barely able to hold on to it with my bloodstained hands. I shined it over to where I thought the monster was.

Two of my shots had hit home. I ran over to the nurse, slamming the heel of my shoe down on to its deformed face, and felt its head cave in with a disgusting squelch. The nurse immediately fell quiet and stopped moving altogether.

For a moment, I stood still and listened. Nothing else came to assault me. Pressing both of my hands to the wall, I bent over and dry heaved for what seemed like an eternity. I couldn't fathom the depravity of what I had just done. The sickening _crack_ of breaking bone echoed over and over in my head.

Even after several minutes had passed, I still hadn't quite gathered my bearings. I couldn't calm down yet, because I wasn't safe. I had just created an enormous racket that was sure to attract plenty of other monsters to this spot. The only solution was to get the hell out of here.

That was when I remembered that I was on the first floor, and the door outside was in sight. Tightening my grip on the gun, I shined the flashlight forward to survey the area before pressing forward at a run. Nothing came to stop me. I was leaving, finally leaving!

I knew I was in a terrible state of denial. Even before I reached the doors, somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew they wouldn't open.

Jammed. Completely jammed shut, with no hope of ever opening. I tried and tried, but the most I could do was rattle them. I didn't know why they weren't opening, just that they weren't, and that fact was essentially a death sentence for me.

"No…" I heard myself murmur, finally backing away from the doors and staring at them with wide, uncomprehending eyes. They were just doors. But in here, in this hell, trying to get through a jammed door was about as impossible as breaking through a brick wall. I was trapped.

Feeling tears of horror and frustration stream down my face, I reached forward and rattled the doors again. I pulled as hard as I could, pushed as hard as I could, even slammed my full weight against them. The sound of the rattling and my anguished sobs echoed throughout the hallways, and the fact that I was probably attracting attention only made it worse.

"Let…me…_out!" _I yelled at the top of my lungs, losing all control. "Why?! _Why can't I leave?! I don't deserve this! I don't want to die! LET ME OUT, GODDAMMIT!"_

I eventually tired myself out, my throat feeling raw from all the screaming I had done. But as my cries seemed to fade out, another noise made itself known. It started out as a low wail, and then grew in intensity until it sapped all of the strength from my limbs.

That was a siren.

It grew louder, faded, and then intensified again. I looked around me in stark disbelief for a moment, watching the walls fade as a new kind of impenetrable darkness permeated everything around me. Tendrils of blood crept down from the ceiling and on to the walls, moving as if they had a life of their own.

The terrible reality of what was happening hit me like a physical force, knocking the wind from my lungs. I clawed at the doors feebly one final time, before sliding down to my knees and curling up in a ball. As I sobbed and trembled uncontrollably, the light on my phone suddenly died and the darkness engulfed me.

And so, the nightmare began.

* * *

**A/N: It just seemed like a good place to end it. XD **

**Any thoughts? Ideas? Criticism? Review and I'll love youu~**

**Next time: "'Anyway?!' What do you mean, _'anyway?!'"_**


	7. Alternate Hospital

**A/N: At long last, here's the latest installment! I made sure to make this one a decent length, to make up for the short chapter last time. :P And stuff gets accomplished here, so yay!**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I hope you enjoy the new chapter~**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill!**

When I came to, I was no longer in the same place. I knew this because the floor below me felt like wood rather than tile, and because I couldn't feel any walls in my immediate vicinity.

My first feeling was one of extreme, suffocating panic. I hadn't even realized that I had fallen unconscious in the first place; the last thing I remembered was sobbing uncontrollably as the siren wailed in the background. I had been on the first floor, near the front doors. The doors that had sealed me into this hell.

It was pitch black. I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face. It took everything I had to stop myself from hyperventilating, especially when my eyes just couldn't adjust to the darkness.

Shaking, I reached over to my hip and found the reassuring weight of the gun. There were still bullets in my pockets, but I wouldn't be able to see enough to reload the weapon if I needed to.

I felt along the floor, and found the rectangular form of my cell phone sitting on the ground between my legs. My thumb found one of the buttons on the front of the device and I pressed it, expecting the screen to light up. It didn't. I realized with growing horror that the battery must have died; in other words, I was stuck in this darkness.

Although I was somehow managing not to hyperventilate, my breathing seemed far too loud. I pressed my heels against the floor, pushing myself backwards and running my hands along the wood as I moved. My entire body was quaking with fear; I wanted to cry. It was dead silent in this place, wherever it was, but that didn't help at all.

I nearly jumped when my back met a wall, and my spine stiffened. I reached backwards to feel the wall, and noted that it was made of what felt like brick. Wood floors and brick walls…where the hell was I? Was I even in the hospital anymore? Oh, God…I couldn't see anything…!

Somehow, I managed to stumble to my feet. Sliding my feet over the floor so that I wouldn't trip on anything, I slowly made my way along the wall in search of a door out of here.

And if I found an exit? What then? If it was just as dark outside as it was in here…

I wanted to scream, but I was afraid it would attract attention. I wanted to leave, but I didn't know where I would go. But if I stayed in one spot, what would happen to me? What if something was in here _with_ me? I couldn't see…I couldn't see…did I _want _to see? No…

A grinding noise coming from up above caused me to freeze up. My eyes opened wide as I fought to adjust to the darkness, but nothing worked. Grinding. Anything could be making that scraping, grinding noise. The image of Pyramid Head formed in my mind, and I flattened myself against the brick wall, paralyzed.

The noise stopped, and I heard the sound of a light metal clanging. Then, from the end of the room opposite me, I saw something…a brightening light. The light revealed a metal ladder on the wall, and then a pair of shoes climbing down, and then a man had dropped into the room. Oh, thank God, it was him!

James seemed to sense the presence of someone else in the room, and he looked over in my direction, though he couldn't see me because his flashlight wasn't shining in my direction. It looked like he saw my figure in the darkness, though, because I saw his eyes widen. I stepped forth, trying to bury my fear as I opened my mouth to speak to him.

He beat me to it, immediately moving forward. "Mary?"

Then he faltered when I drew into the light, realizing his mistake. His face fell. "Oh…it's just you. Sorry…"

I just stared at him with my mouth partially open as he shifted awkwardly. My fearful trembles were just beginning to fade, and I was able to think rationally again; I realized where I was and what had happened. I had failed in my attempt to leave the hospital for good, which meant I was going to be present for the chase scene…

Then I remembered that I had spent the past ten minutes in a pitch black room, completely vulnerable, and hanging on to my sanity by a thread…only to have James come down and act put out at the very sight of me.

"Anyway," James said, finally meeting my gaze. "I'm glad you're alive."

"'Anyway'?" I clenched my fists, finally understanding why Maria was so pissed off at this point in the game. "Yeah, let's just move on, why don't we? You just _abandoned_ me, and now you're acting disappointed to see me again? No, it's cool. It's not like I was _scared out of my fucking mind_ or anything. Fuck you, James."

"No, that's not what I meant—" He started to speak, but I shook my head.

"I get it, okay? If I'm such a burden, just say so. You don't have to pretend to give a shit if you don't want to," I said. My voice trembled a little, and I inwardly cursed myself, feeling pathetic and small and incredibly helpless.

The room fell quiet for a few moments, as I just stared at my feet. I couldn't even look at him. It surprised me how much his little slip had hurt; I hadn't even known the guy for a day yet, but the knowledge that he might not care as much as I hoped he did was agonizing. My excitement and relief at seeing his face again was now mixed with a bitter feeling of resentment.

"…I'm sorry," he said after the silence had stretched on for too long.

"No, you're not," I replied in a weak voice. I heard him sigh.

"Don't say that. I really am. I _do_ care about you, and I don't think you're a burden. I…I just…"

"You're just here for your wife," I finished for him, still staring down at the ground. "And I'm just some random girl. I know." No…I wasn't going to let myself cry again.

"That's not what I was about to say," he murmured. I clenched my fists, blinking back tears, before closing the distance between us and wrapping my arms tightly around him.

"Promise me you won't ever leave me like that again," I said, feeling immensely comforted by the human contact. "I thought I was going to _die_, you asshole."

He stiffened a little, but returned the embrace with minimal hesitation. In other circumstances, we would be complete strangers to each other…but here, in this place, it felt like we had known each other for years. The fear left me so emotionally charged that I was willing to do a lot of things that I would never normally do. Embracing a man I just met hours ago, who was also covered in blood and grime, wasn't all that unusual.

"I promise," he said. "I won't leave you alone again. I'm sorry."

Hearing him say that calmed me down a great deal, and after a few seconds, I pulled away and wiped my eyes. I finally started to feel like I had a little more control over the situation.

"…I'm sorry, too," I finally said. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…I was just really upset. I was down here in the dark for too long…"

"It's all right," he assured me. "…Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" I shrugged, still feeling a little shaken up. Then I noted something else about him—now that my eyes had adjusted to the light, I saw that he was covered in some places with a thin white dust. His clothes were also torn up a lot more than I remembered, and he was bleeding, too.

"What happened to you?" I asked, already suspecting what his answer might be.

He hesitated, and then let out a small sigh. "I…fell off the roof."

Though I wasn't surprised, my eyebrows flew up at how bluntly he put it. I walked in a circle around him, brushing the plaster dust off of him and attempting to assess his injuries. Thank God…it was nothing too bad. I was shocked that he hadn't broken anything—he had been near death at that point in the game.

"Christ," I muttered. "How did you manage that?"

"Something…pushed me off," James explained. "I got lucky; I fell into something soft."

"Good," I replied. "You look like hell, though."

"I know."

I finally paused in my examination, satisfied that he wasn't too badly hurt. He was only bleeding from a few minor cuts, which would probably close up in a little while. I looked up at him, crossing my arms.

"Well, what happened while we were separated? Did you see Laura?"

He nodded. "She got away, though. I don't know where she could be now…"

"Oh…" I murmured, and then somehow managed to gather my resolve. "…Okay. I guess we'd better go look for her…where the hell are we, anyway? When that siren went off, I blacked out and woke up here."

James pulled out the map, moving closer to show me. He frowned, before taking out a pencil and erasing a few things. I leaned over, watching him; that was right, everything had changed, so he probably had to adjust all of the marks he had made. I hadn't even realized he had been marking things off. He probably hadn't started until after he left me behind.

It struck me as funny for a moment when I realized that he used the exact same marks that had been used on the maps in the game. He scribbled out jammed doors, and used a bold line over ones that were locked. He signified open doors by drawing a line through them with an arrow on either side. I also noticed that there was a rectangle drawn with a line through it in the day room—the refrigerator? James couldn't open it in real life, either?

"We're right here." James broke me out of my reverie, pointing to a little room in the basement. Yeah, that looked familiar.

"Where do we go next?" I asked tentatively, frowning. Now that I was down here with James, away from all the monsters, part of me just wanted to hole up in this room. I knew it wouldn't work and we'd probably just die down here, but still…nothing would find us all the way down here…

James wasn't looking at me; he had faltered, distracted by something. I watched now as he bent over, picking up a small ring from a puddle of blood on the floor. Did everything around here have to be covered in blood? I watched as he examined it for a moment, before pocketing it.

"We might need it later," he said to me abruptly, as if I was about to question his actions. I just shrugged in reply. The copper ring…that was one of the rings we needed to unlock that weird door with the woman's hands sticking out of it.

I didn't want to think about that door.

He seemed to remember my question, and looked at me once more. "…Let's head up to the second floor. There's something I need your help with."

If I hadn't been so scared, I would've smiled at that. I couldn't believe James actually needed a girl to help him open that stupid fridge.

"Okay," I said, nodding, and followed him to the ladder leading out of the room.

It was too far up for me to reach, so James grabbed me by the hips and hoisted me up. I reluctantly climbed up the metal ladder, emerging out into the dark storeroom. The room grew brighter as James climbed up behind me, and soon it was illuminated enough for me to examine it more thoroughly. The shelf that had once blocked the entrance to that underground room, I noticed uneasily, had the same bloody handprints on it that I remembered from the game.

This place was an insane asylum, wasn't it? What had that room been used for? That person, the one who had been locked inside the "basement's basement"…what had they done to deserve it?

Even the normal Silent Hill showed some clear evidence of strange activity going on behind the scenes…and that wasn't even considering the whole thing with Alessa and The Order. This town was just messed up in general. All the history I remembered reading on this place involved weird epidemics, Indian rituals, and mysterious deaths. It was starting to get all jumbled together in my mind…

There was an overturned shelf in front of me, with a variety of objects scattered across the floor. It was a mess in here, and the dust nearly caused me to start coughing. James moved past me and gestured for me to follow, and I let him lead me out of the room.

After a few seconds, we had moved through the door and into the stairwell. I noticed that it was a lot darker here than it had been before—it was the walls. The walls were covered in a strange grime that hadn't been present before the change. James walked up the stairs, and I followed closely behind, not wanting to get caught up in the heavy darkness that surrounded us.

"All of these doors are jammed now," the blond explained in a low voice as we passed the door marked '2F'. We continued onward to the third floor, walking out into the hallway.

It was the same general layout, but everything had a distinct sort of…deteriorated look. The walls were covered in the same grime from the stairwell, and some of the doors were covered with what looked like cloth. I didn't understand the purpose of it, but then again, I also didn't understand the purpose of the cemented over doors in the apartment buildings. Sometimes it was better not to question certain things.

James didn't bother looking around the area, so I assumed he'd already examined it. Instead, he headed straight for the double doors that led to the patient wing hallway. I followed him through, not wanting to wait around for any nurses.

The next hall we entered was about as interesting as the one before; the grime was still there, though now I could see specks of blood on the tile floor. We stepped over the body of a nurse, and I made sure to give it a wide berth. James paused for a moment, looking down at it with a frown, and I had a moment of panic where I thought it might still be alive. When he moved on, though, I realized that I had been mistaken. Why had he stopped like that, then?

I couldn't shake my curiosity. We passed by another nurse, and this time I made sure to move slowly, examining the body as I passed.

It looked mangled in general, which wasn't a surprise; hitting something with a pipe would do that. But…something seemed _wrong_ about it. The lower half of the nurse's uniform was drenched in blood. It was lying on its side, so I stopped to reach a foot out and flip it over on to its back. I instantly regretted it.

"Oh, God!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself, gasping in horror. Now I knew. James hadn't killed those nurses.

"What?" James called from up ahead, instantly turning around and lifting the pipe in case I needed help. "What, what is it—" Then he cut himself off, falling silent as he saw the same thing I did.

The nurse that I had flipped over now laid flat on the floor, its legs splayed to reveal nothing but blood and destroyed flesh between them. Splinters of bone poked through the skirt of the nurse's blood drenched uniform, showing that the pelvis had probably been completely shattered. Something had raped this nurse to death.

I couldn't wrap my head around how _violently_ this nurse must have been taken…and how impossibly strong the creature that had done this had to be. It occurred to me that this kill was relatively fresh, since the hospital hadn't been in this changed state for very long. _He_ had been here not too long ago. _He_ had been standing here, in this very spot.

As if to prove this fact, I now noticed a line of broken tiles on the floor, leading all the way down the hall; something heavy and sharp had clearly been dragged across the floor. I also noticed a trail of blood alongside the broken tiles…it looked like Pyramid Head had taken another nurse for later.

I tried to think of all the jokes people had cracked about Pyramid Head, all of the hilarious web comics and internet memes I had seen. Unfortunately, telling myself that it was Rape O' Clock didn't exactly make me feel any better at this point. It had been funnier when I was holding a controller in my hand and James was the only one in danger. Because when people made jokes about Pyramid Head…it was only a defensive mechanism to make him seem less scary. There was nothing funny about him at all. There was nothing funny about one monster brutalizing another.

There was nothing funny about the fact that I could end up like that, lying broken and mutilated and _dead_ on the floor.

Hands gripped my shoulders, and I almost screamed. James had approached me while I had been staring at the corpse in a kind of paralyzed horror; now he eased me past the nurse, further on down the hallway. I didn't resist; the image of the completely destroyed area between the nurse's legs persisted in my mind. I felt the need to throw up, but I had nothing left in my stomach. My throat already burned with bile.

"Don't think about it," James warned me in a murmur. "The thing that did it is gone. I'm here to protect you. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He didn't hear me; instead he continued to lead me down the hallway, until we arrived at the elevator.

I noticed the door to the stairwell…that door with the woman on the front. Her two arms really did stand out from the door; they looked plastic, and yet fleshy at the same time…like the Mannequin monsters. On the ring finger of each hand was a slight indent, which was a pretty clear indication of what should be placed there. I saw James staring at those hands, hesitating, before he turned and pressed the button to open the elevator doors.

Ah. The blood trail that I had noticed earlier led to the stairwell door and vanished beneath it. Now I knew why James was putting off trying to open it until we were out of options.

"Come on," he said, and I followed him all too willingly. The elevator doors shut behind us, closing us in, and I slumped against one of the walls. I saw James press the button for the second floor, and braced myself in case there would be something on the other side of the doors when they opened.

I heard the sound of operating machinery, and felt the elevator start moving downward. We didn't say anything, just preparing ourselves for when the elevator would stop.

Then James' radio started emitting static, and we both froze. Oh…oh, shit! Nothing was supposed to happen in the elevator, right?

I remembered, with sudden relief, that this was the point where that weird game show would play. Some creepy voice would ask us a couple of questions, invite us to collect our prize, and then cackle at the prospect of our failure to answer correctly. As I stared at James' radio and waited for the cheering to start, the elevator lurched to a halt.

James and I stared at each other, wide-eyed. This wasn't supposed to happen. This was not supposed to happen!

The static on the radio grew louder and louder as the elevator car trembled. I looked around wildly, frantically trying to figure out what was causing it. James was already reaching up and clawing at a small maintenance hatch on the top of the elevator car, trying to open it so that we could escape into the shaft. Then the car shuddered once more, something let out a wail from the outside, and I saw blood seeping through the cracks around the hatch. The small trapdoor shook, and there was a screeching noise as something clawed at the top of the elevator car.

"_Don't open it!" _I cried, horrified. _"Don't let it in, James!"_

Now James was attempting to hold the hatch shut, as I panicked and fumbled for the handgun. The elevator car lurched and dropped a few feet before halting again, causing James to fall to the floor as I let out a scream. An ominous groan came from up above, followed by a loud snap; the car lurched again as James and I fought to stay upright. He was pounding at the 'open door' button as the car jerked downward again, and all I could hear was labored breathing that didn't belong to either of us. Something howled loudly outside of the car, and the howling was soon mixed in with my own terrified screams.

The elevator fell downward another few feet and stopped again, and I heard that horrible groaning noise. This time there were two more loud snaps, followed by another jerk. The elevator doors opened just a crack. James dove at them, instantly placing his hands in the crack. I ran forward as well, helping him pry the doors open at a painfully slow pace. The elevator car was shaking precariously.

Then the doors were open just enough, and we were halfway between floors. James immediately hoisted me up through the small opening we had, before climbing through himself. We rolled out on to a dirty floor, getting to our knees just in time to see the shadow perched on top of the car we had just been inside of. I reached up with the gun and immediately fired off three rounds, and the figure let out a screech. There was another snap, and the elevator plummeted out of sight.

James and I exchanged glances, staring into the darkness of the elevator shaft until we heard the inevitable crash. I felt the floor rumble a little from the impact, and could barely hold on to the gun anymore. My entire body was drenched in a cold sweat, and I felt nauseous.

Those snapping noises we had heard in the elevator car…had been the sounds of that monster severing the cables. We had gotten out just in time.

Dead silence. No monsters came to confront us in our moment of vulnerability, as we attempted to gather our bearings. I was shaking uncontrollably, fighting to control the volume of my breathing. Even James looked visibly shaken. He stumbled to his feet, helping me up as well. We both leaned against the wall and stared in the direction of the elevator shaft for what felt like a very long time.

That hadn't happened in the game.

What else was going to happen? Were safe areas really safe? Could any monster appear at any time at all? What the hell had just attacked us?

The silence was too much. We couldn't stand here forever…

"Th-That was…" I attempted to speak, but my voice cracked and I choked on a sob. James placed a clammy hand on my shoulder and squeezed. He was attempting to comfort me, but he himself was white as a ghost. We had almost _died_ just then.

"Let's get out of here," he suggested, managing to keep his voice steady. I readily agreed.

And so, I followed closely behind as he led me in the direction of the day room, though I wasn't sure I'd have enough physical strength to do much of anything after that particular ordeal. I just wanted to sit down somewhere and cry.

* * *

**A/N: ...because answering game show questions obviously isn't as fun as almost plummeting to your death! XD**

**I just thought I'd switch that part up, because I didn't see the point of making James answer some trivia questions. :P He'll have to live without those extra shotgun shells. Also, no more elevator! Looks like they'll have to break down a few jammed doors instead.**

**Yes, I totally referenced the rape clock. I'm sure most of you have seen that picture at some point or another..."Good heavens, just look at the time!" XD**

**Review, you awesome people~**

**Next time: Pyramid Head.**


	8. Pyramid Pursuit

**A/N: Whew...this one took a while, but it's a very eventful chapter. :D Brace yourselves, this one's a bit long. I wanted to make sure I executed certain scenes as effectively as I could...I have mixed feelings about this chapter, but overall I'm pretty satisfied. I hope you guys enjoy it~**

**I mostly listened to the SH3 soundtrack while writing it. Particularly, "Dance with the Night Wind", "A Stray Child", "Dead on Arrival", and "Flower Crown of Poppy" were on my playlist. As always, Akira Yamaoka is a genius. ;D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill or Pyramid Head.**

In the moments following what had happened in the elevator, we were met with an ominous silence. No monsters came forth to confront us as we made our way down the hallway, which was just as well; I couldn't remember how many rounds I had left in the gun, and my hands were shaking too badly to reload. Regardless, I held the weapon as steadily as I could while I waited for James to open the doors to the day room.

The doors seemed to groan as they were pushed open, and they revealed nothing but darkness. I had forgotten how large the room was—James' flashlight couldn't illuminate all of it at once, and taking that first step towards the inky blackness was extremely difficult. My only comfort was that the radio remained silent.

Even that thought didn't help much, though…Pyramid Head often came and went without any warning at all.

James moved into the room from behind me, and with some effort I brushed the troubling thought aside. After what had just happened, I wasn't sure what to be most afraid of anymore.

As the blond walked further into the room, more of the darkness receded. Chairs became visible, their shapes distorted slightly by the rumpled cloth that was draped over them. The flashlight created stark shadows that stretched onward into the blackness beyond. As James took the next few steps, the shadows shifted, creating the illusion of movement and effectively unsettling me. Not that I hadn't already been unsettled.

He continued onward as I followed closely behind, and I noted how he immediately used the light to check every corner of the room. Once he was satisfied that there wasn't anything lying in wait for us, he turned back towards the center of the room. There was a large, rectangular object lying on the floor. The fridge, no doubt.

"James…" I murmured in a weak voice. "Can we sit down for a minute?"

He looked over his shoulder at me and nodded. "Yeah. Over here."

We walked over to the chairs I had spotted moments ago, and James yanked the dusty cloth away from two of them. The chairs themselves weren't covered in anything unpleasant, so we were able to sit down and rest without much of a fuss.

As soon as we both took our seats, my body felt incredibly drained. I had been tired before, but now I actually had the opportunity to think about it; any adrenaline I had left was completely gone now. I was still scared, but it wasn't accompanied with the usual feeling of giddiness and lightness in my limbs. Instead, I just felt like curling into a ball and crying.

"…Are you hurt anywhere?" James asked me after a short silence. I weakly shook my head.

"No. You?"

"No," came the reply. "Nothing new, at least."

As he said this, I noticed him glance over at a few of the cuts he had received from his fall off the roof. It looked like they had stopped bleeding for the most part.

"What are we going to do about that elevator?" I asked quietly, not wanting it to get too quiet. I usually heard strange noises when I had time to listen; whether they were real or a product of my imagination made no difference in how disturbed they made me feel.

"I don't know. I'm still thinking about that," James admitted. "We can't get to the stairwell from this floor. The doors are all jammed."

"Hm…" I wasn't sure what to do about it, either. Was it possible to break down those doors, or would attempting it do more harm than good? It was too difficult to think straight in this place…

"We'll have to find a way, though," the blond murmured. "We can't just leave Laura alone in this place."

"James…" I paused, frowning. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"…What do you think your wife is doing in a place like this?" My eyebrows drew together slightly, and I stared off into the darkness. I didn't know why I was asking; I just wanted to keep James talking. I needed some sort of distraction so I wouldn't have to think about our current predicament.

He grew quiet at that, and I realized that I had probably brought up a bad topic. I had a feeling James wasn't going to be overly talkative about his supposedly dead wife. Just when I thought he wasn't going to answer, though, he spoke.

"Our trip to Silent Hill was the last vacation we took before Mary got…sick," he said. "This place holds some of my last good memories of her. I don't know why it's like this now, but I can understand why she chose this town…"

"Do you think she's alive?" I asked, looking over at him now.

He had his elbows resting on his knees as he stared down at his hands, which were clasped in front of him. The light from his flashlight created shadows over his eyes, giving him a dark and brooding look as he sat there and contemplated my next question.

"I'm not sure," he finally said, "but I do know that something strange is going on here. If it involves Mary, then I'm going to get to the bottom of it. I don't care what it takes."

"I see…" I mumbled, returning my gaze to the darkness. "I'd say that I'm with you every step of the way, only I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die soon. The clingy female protagonist always gets killed, y'know?"

James suddenly gripped my shoulder, squeezing hard.

"Don't talk like that," he said, and I looked over at him with surprise. He fixed me with a steely gaze. "This isn't a horror movie."

"I…I know," I murmured. But still, I was being forced into a predetermined role…

After a moment, I let out a weak and shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry, James."

He released his grip on my shoulder, leaning back into his chair again with a frown. "You don't have to keep apologizing. It's all right."

"I…yeah." I reached up to press one palm lightly to my forehead. "I don't know how you keep this up…aren't you scared?"

He raised his eyebrows a little at that. "Of course I am. I guess…I just don't show it very well."

"No shit," I said, with a halfhearted little chuckle.

His brow furrowed. "…You're shaking," he pointed out.

I shrugged, rubbing my eyes. "It happens."

"Are you sure you're okay?" James asked, moving his chair a little closer to get a better look at me.

"I'm fine," I insisted, but couldn't even work up the motivation to roll my eyes at him. Instead, I leaned back in my chair and tried to compose myself. My eyes were stinging.

He fell silent at that, but I could feel his eyes on me. I knew I probably didn't look okay; even I could tell how pale I had turned. I just felt so lethargic all of a sudden.

"Hey, James?" I murmured.

"Yeah?"

"…Don't let me fall asleep."

He didn't reply, and I continued fighting to keep my eyes open. I wanted to sleep, but I was afraid of the nightmares I might have…and worse, I was terrified by the thought of waking up alone again. I was convinced that if I dropped my guard and lost awareness for even a second, James would vanish forever.

My body's exhaustion eventually overcame my will, and it became too difficult to keep my eyes from drooping shut. I realized in the back of my mind that I was about to fall to the floor, but I was beyond caring.

The fall was abruptly halted, and I suddenly found myself leaning against something warm and soft. That was the last straw; I slipped into a deep sleep almost immediately. For the first time since I encountered this hell, I had found a darkness that was actually comforting.

* * *

_My bag fell to the ground with a loud thump as I walked into the kitchen, stretching. Day three of my Sophomore year, over. Only…how many days to go? I didn't want to count._

_The shadows in the room were growing longer as the sun fell lower in the sky. I grimaced; the days were getting shorter, which meant summer was most definitely coming to a close. There was still so much I wanted to do…_

_There was a knock at the door, causing me to look up and frown. Walking down the stairs, I caught a glimpse of a man through the window on the front door. He stepped into the driver's seat of a black UPS truck, before pulling away and driving off down the road._

_Ah! Did that mean…_

_Suddenly in a hurry, I wrenched the door open and looked down at the doorstep. As I had expected, a small cardboard box sat there—the label on the top was addressed to me. Picking it up, I grinned to myself as I made my way back inside the house. It sure had taken long enough…_

_Placing the box on the counter, I pulled it open and fished around inside until my hand came into contact with the familiar form of a plastic game case. Taking it out, I held it at eye level._

_Yes, that was definitely it; I recognized the image on the front from what I'd seen online. This was the game I had been anticipating…the first horror game I would ever dare to play, from a series known for its psychologically disturbing atmosphere._

_My grin grew. It was time to play some Silent Hill 2._

* * *

So quiet…it was so deathly quiet.

My eyes opened a little, and the darkness receded. I saw a dirty and broken tile floor. My sneakers were covered with splotches of red.

I was sitting upright, leaning against something warm and green. There was a light coming from somewhere beside me, but darkness still concealed the edges of the room. For a moment, I did nothing but stare ahead as my numb mind pulled away from the embrace of sleep.

Then it all came back to me, and I almost wished I had never woken up.

My green pillow shifted slightly, and I knew he had noticed that my eyes were open. I turned my head a little, my cheek still resting on James' shoulder.

"Why did you let me sleep?" I asked, still feeling a bit out of it.

"You looked like you needed it," he replied quietly.

I pulled away from him, straightening my posture. "…Well, thanks."

He nodded, rotating his shoulder a little bit. I felt kind of guilty; he was probably sore. Still, I didn't remember when I had started to lean on him like that.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Only about an hour, I think," he answered, looking over at me. "Do you think you're ready to move on?"

After a short hesitation, I nodded slowly. I would probably never really be ready, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice in these circumstances. "…Yeah. But James, aren't you tired too?"

"I'll be all right," he said dismissively, standing up. "We can both get some rest once we're out of here."

I knew it was impossible for him to know any better, but his cluelessness was so frustrating. If only he knew what was in store…he'd probably jump at the chance for some shuteye.

Regardless, I continued to play my part and stood up as well. "Okay. What now, then?"

James walked over to the fridge, gesturing for me to come closer. I walked up, stretching and finally feeling fully awake.

"I need your help with this," he told me. "The door's stuck."

I looked down at the object, frowning. It was just a plain white fridge, a bit smaller than what I had at home. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the handle on the door was a bit rusted.

I almost asked him how much of a difference he thought a teenage girl could make, but thought better of it. I wasn't in the mood for any of my usual wiseass remarks; besides, it reminded me too much of the words Maria had spoken to James at this part of the game. Instead, I reached down silently and grasped the handle with both hands.

James mimicked my actions, and we both pulled as hard as we could. The door came unstuck after a few seconds and flew open, causing us to nearly fall over. I quickly grabbed James' arm for balance, preventing him from falling as well. The fridge door fell all the way open, the edge of it hitting the tile on the other side.

"We did it," James sighed, regaining his balance.

"Go team," I said with a halfhearted fist pump.

The blond leaned forward, shining his flashlight into the now-open fridge. "…It's empty?"

I peered inside as well, stepping forward to get a closer look. The fridge _did_ appear empty; there weren't even any shelves, just an interior covered with occasional splotches of grime. There was a small object in the corner on my end, and I reluctantly reached down to pick it up.

"Look," I murmured, holding the grey ring up to show him. It was engraved with the image of a bloated, haunting looking face.

"It's another ring," I continued, pushing it into his hand. "You can hold onto it. It's kind of creeping me out."

He examined it for another second, frowning, and then pocketed it. Well, we had both rings now…there was only one thing left to do. In a way, the broken elevator was a bit of a blessing. But wasn't it only prolonging the inevitable?

James shined his flashlight around the room one last time, before turning towards the doors. "I think these rings can be used to open a door on the third floor. Let's go see what we can do."

I nodded, knowing there was no other option. He picked up the pipe and shotgun from where he had left them on the floor, and I held the handgun in a tight grip. We pushed through the doors, entering the hallway…which was, to my relief, still empty.

James paused, listening. There still wasn't so much as a crackle of static from the radio. He glared at the darkness for another second, before checking to make sure I was still behind him.

"If I'm remembering right," he murmured, pressing his hand against another pair of doors, "these doors should lead out into the hallway with the stairwell. If we could just get them open…"

"What if the stairwell door is jammed, too?"

"We'll have to deal with that when the time comes," he replied.

I watched as he tried the doorknob one more time, and noted that it was most definitely jammed. As he attempted to get the door open, I continually glanced in the direction of the hallway ahead, paranoid. The hall was empty…but there was that shaft. That open shaft…

"Stand back," James said. I backed away, frowning. What was he planning to…?

Oh. Did he seriously think he could muscle his way through? He couldn't even open a refrigerator by himself!

Regardless of my own private thoughts, James rushed forward anyway and rammed his shoulder into one of the doors. To his credit, they groaned audibly under the impact—but they still held fast. James let out a grunt of pain, reaching up to clutch his shoulder as he pulled away from the doors.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. "You seriously shouldn't have done that. It's not dislocated or anything, right?"

"No," he shook his head, wincing for another second before straightening up. "Just bruised, probably…in any case, I don't think we'll be getting through those doors. It felt like there was something blocking them from the other side."

"Weird…" I muttered, staring. Each door had a small window on it, but the windows were too dirty to see through. I guess it didn't matter what was blocking it; we still weren't gonna get through.

"Do you think we should try another door?" I asked, and then hesitated. "…There's a stairwell next to the elevator, right?"

James frowned. "I don't know if I should be trying something like that so close to the open shaft…"

"Right," I agreed wholeheartedly. I really didn't want to be going down that stairwell, anyway. "Yeah, that wouldn't be a good idea. What do we do, then?"

He looked deep in thought, and started walking slowly down the hallway. I followed him, listening carefully for any signs of danger as we moved. That empty silence still weighed down on us. I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

James didn't stop until he reached where the elevator shaft was. It hadn't gotten any less ominous looking, either. It was just this gaping hole in the wall. Falling in would mean certain death.

We had both turned in the direction of the shaft, staring at it. I looked over at James, but he still seemed to be thinking. I didn't know what he was thinking _about_; we couldn't open any doors, and the elevator was gone. From what I could see, we were pretty much screwed.

I looked down at the handgun I was holding. Maybe we'd be ending it sooner than I thought…

My morbid thought process was broken when James stepped forward, closer to the shaft. He held his flashlight up, shining it around to look inside.

"Careful," I said, tentatively reaching a hand out. The last thing I needed was for James to get himself killed and leave me all alone up here.

He continued his examination, and after a moment he paused with his light fixed on something. "…Look," he said, glancing over his shoulder and gesturing for me to come closer.

I reluctantly did so, keeping a firm grip on the edge of the opening as I leaned slightly into the shaft. James reached around me, focusing the flashlight on what he wanted me to see. My eyes fell on it, my mouth dropped open, and I backed away in a hurry.

"Oh, hell no," I said, trying to push back my sudden feeling of panic.

He turned around to face me, stepping closer to me. "It's the only way."

"No!" I repeated with more force this time, backing away some more. My back hit the wall, nearly causing me to jump.

What James had pointed out to me was a ladder. There was a rusted metal ladder built into a niche on the left wall of the elevator shaft. Not only did the shaft look extremely uninviting, I was terrified of heights, especially when it was impossible to even _see_ what I could potentially fall into.

"Brittany."

He spoke my name in that infuriatingly calm voice, but I could tell he was starting to lose his patience with me. He was probably getting sick of reasoning with me every time we came up to some new horror. Was it really my fault I was so afraid?

"We can't stay in this place forever," he told me. "We'll die."

"You go," I said, biting my lip. "I'll wait here. You can open the door to the stairwell from the other side, right?"

"I don't know," he said. "But I said I wouldn't leave you alone again."

He stared at me for a second, and when he saw that I wasn't going to move or reply, he let out a sigh. "I'll go up first and take a look. Hold on to the pipe for me, all right?" And then, after a pause, "It's going to be okay. I promise."

I took the pipe from him without a word, but followed him when he made his way back over to the shaft. I watched nervously as he reached out and grasped a rung of the ladder, before swinging on to it completely. He climbed upwards and disappeared from my view, and the world darkened around me. I held the pipe in a death grip.

It was still very quiet. The only noises I heard were the ones James was making; I heard the sound of him grunting, followed by a strange metallic noise. It wasn't a screech of any sort, so it didn't immediately put me on the alert. I was too afraid to risk trying to catch a glimpse of him, though. That would mean leaning my head into the shaft.

I focused completely on the sounds of James' activities, refusing to look behind me. Even if there was something there, I wouldn't be able to see it.

Then it was suddenly brighter, and I realized a light was being shined down from above. This time I gathered the courage to lean in and look up; I was nearly blinded by the brightness of the flashlight.

"It's clear up here, too," he called to me. "Here, hand me the pipe." I saw his hand reaching down, silhouetted by the light.

I obeyed, and let him pull it from my hands. There was a light metallic clang as he set it down, and then I saw the light move towards me. I reached up and took it from him. Then I faltered, unsure of what to do next.

"The ladder's sturdy," James called. "I'm watching, so don't worry."

He was watching? How was that supposed to be comforting? That wouldn't save me from falling…

Paranoid, I took one final look behind me. There was nothing there. Since I didn't have any breast pockets, I slipped the flashlight into the left pocket of my jeans. Then I took a deep breath, leaned out into the shaft, and grabbed one of the rungs. I reached out with my other hand and grabbed the same rung, and then I swung into the elevator shaft.

For one terrifying moment, my feet met nothing but air. Then I scrambled to find a foothold, and my left foot kicked a rung; I immediately placed both feet firmly on the ladder. Okay, the first scary part was done with…now to begin the climb.

Lifting one shaking foot, I placed it on the next rung up. The other foot followed. Slowly but surely, I made my way closer and closer to the third floor. I noted that James was peering at me through partially open doors; he must have had to pry them open somehow before he could get through.

I just had to keep moving. But regardless of which way I moved, it still carried me closer to death. Would I be saving myself the trouble if I just let go right now? Which option would be less painful?

I was getting the shakes again. If this kept up, I wouldn't be physically capable of holding on anymore.

"Brittany?" James called, and I realized that I had frozen up. His knees couldn't have been any further than three inches above me, and yet he still seemed impossibly far away.

My entire body had broken out in a cold sweat. I looked slowly over one shoulder, downwards towards the seemingly impenetrable blackness below me. I suddenly felt _watched_.

Unable to shake the feeling, I risked taking one hand off the ladder to pull the gun from my waist. I pointed it down at the darkness, barely able to aim straight. I didn't know where I was aiming either way.

"What are you doing?" I heard James again, but then he jolted as the radio suddenly began emitting static. Just as he swung around to look behind him, I fired off four consecutive shots.

It was still difficult to see clearly, but the bright flashes created by the gunshots revealed that there was indeed _something _clinging to the wall below me, and that something had been steadily creeping upward this entire time. The recoil nearly caused me to drop the gun, but I somehow managed to keep a firm grip on it.

The spray of blood I saw indicated that despite my poor aim, at least one of my shots had connected. The creature let out a loud wail—the same wail we had heard in the elevator. Oh, God, that thing was back.

I couldn't move. Terror had effectively glued me to that ladder, and I could no longer see where the monster was. I would see it if it got within range of the flashlight, but by then it would be too late.

"Climb up!" James yelled. "Hurry!"

He still seemed so far away…regardless, I forced myself to step up the next few rungs, despite how hard I was trembling. My panicked state of mind caused me to kick at air a few times, but I managed to make it up to James' level. He was holding the shotgun.

There was a bright flash and a loud report as he fired into the darkness. I squeezed my eyes shut, clinging to the ladder and listening to the monster howl with pain. There was another flash, and another. Then the static died, and everything fell silent once more.

After a few seconds, we heard a loud crash; the monster had fallen down the shaft. It was definitely dead this time. I let out a shuddering sigh, peeking over my shoulder at James. He was peering down into the darkness, his eyes narrowed a little. Then he slung the shotgun over one shoulder again, looked up at me, and held out a hand.

I stared at his hand for a moment, considering. Then I shakily holstered the gun on the waistband of my jeans and reached out to him. He grabbed my hand, helping me forward, and I swung through the door and on to the third floor.

And it was done. I had foregone giving myself up to the monster below…in favor of dying by Pyramid Head's hands.

For a moment, we leaned against the wall and caught our breath. James picked up the pipe again as I somehow managed to reload the gun, trying to use the mundane activity as a way of distracting myself. I took my time, not even looking up from the magazine when James moved over to the dreaded stairwell door.

The intensity of my trembling grew as I carefully watched him from the corner of my eye. He was placing the rings on the woman's fingers. First came the copper ring, with the spider engraved on it…and then the lead ring, with the bloated face. There was an audible click.

"It's unlocked," James told me. I slid the magazine back into place, slowly lowering the gun.

Since my head was lowered, the first thing I saw was the bloodstain leading to the stairwell door. It was dry now, but that made no difference. The threat still existed.

I couldn't tear my eyes from that stain and its implications. James' legs moved a little as he shifted his weight, waiting for me to make some sort of reply.

"Hey," he called gently to me. "C'mon. Let's get out of here. We can take a breather outside before finishing up, if you want."

He didn't realize how dark it was outside. How could he? All of the windows in here were boarded up. He really…he was really so clueless…

"…Okay," I managed to choke out, biting my lip. I finally forced myself to look up at him.

His brow furrowed slightly with confusion. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "It's…It's nothing."

There was no way I could explain my fears to him without revealing that I knew the future. If I told him that Silent Hill was a video game, he'd really think I had gone off the deep end. And considering where we were, I couldn't blame him.

What was I supposed to do? If I protested again, James would react the same way he always reacted. He would reason with me, talk me into it. And if I continued to resist, he would point out the obvious truth: that we would die anyway if we stayed up here. Jammed doors couldn't be broken down, not in Silent Hill. We went where we were meant to go.

There was a sinking feeling in my stomach as I stepped forward, allowing myself to be strung along by fate. I gripped the gun tightly with both hands, my knuckles turning white. James opened the door, stepping through as I followed along. I shut the stairwell door behind me; there was no turning back now.

We descended the first flight of stairs, and then the second. Time was running out. My breaths were limited. I stared at the sleek black metal of the handgun, considering it. It would only take a few seconds; I just had to press the muzzle to my forehead and pull the trigger. One shot, and it would be over. It would probably even be painless. James wouldn't even have to see; he'd just witness the aftermath. But what did it matter? He had never needed me anyway.

…I couldn't do it. I was too terrified of pain and of death. I wanted to cling to hope, despite the fact that I would almost certainly be killed within the next few minutes.

I would run. Before _he_ even came, I would run. No explanation to James. I didn't care if it was selfish. I had never done anything to warrant this kind of punishment!

The walls around us darkened as we continued our descent. They were stained with blood and grime. I saw a nurse's bloodied hat sitting on one of the steps.

And then came the final flight of steps, and suddenly we were standing before a single metal door.

As I followed James through that door, it felt like we were both moving impossibly slow. We entered a long, narrow, dimly lit hallway, and I was suddenly hit with a sense of claustrophobia. James took the first few steps forward, and I followed.

Now. Now it was time to run, before anything had the chance to happen. I braced myself, ready to dodge around James and bolt down the hallway.

But I couldn't move. Something still felt off. We had only been in here for a few seconds, but what was that feeling…? Still feeling as if I was moving in slow motion, I looked over my shoulder.

Rusted metal, inches from my face. My eyes widened, my breath hitching in my throat. One gloved hand clutched a long, wicked looking spear. I was close enough to hear slow, muffled breathing. I was too shocked to scream.

I saw James move from the corner of my eye. He turned back to see the same thing I did, and for the first time I saw a look of genuine fear on his face.

_"Run!" _He yelled, and that jolted me into action.

We bolted. I risked a look over my shoulder, and saw that Pyramid Head had begun to move—he looked horrifically like a statue that was slowly coming to life. His butcher's apron was covered with dried blood. His exposed arms were muscular, but the flesh was grey and corpselike. And although he couldn't have been more than a few inches taller than James, he seemed to tower over us.

The physical manifestation of my worst fears was lumbering towards us. And he was picking up speed.

Rather than letting myself fall behind, I focused on keeping up with James. I was forced to follow closely behind him; the hall was too narrow for me to push around him without tripping us both up. We turned a corner, now moving in a corridor adjacent to the one we had just been in. A metal grate separated the two; I could see Pyramid Head on the other side, and I saw what he was about to do.

Instead of trying to catch up with us right away, he turned in our direction and thrust his spear directly through the metal grate. It pierced through with a loud screech, immediately separating me from James. I had to skid to a stop to prevent myself from being skewered.

My heart pounded in my ears as Pyramid Head maneuvered the spear through the hole in the grate he had made. The weapon came swinging in my direction, and I barely managed to duck under it. Then James grabbed both of my arms, tugging me forward and out of harm's way. We continued to run as I heard the sound of Pyramid Head withdrawing the spear from behind us.

Even over the sound of my panicked, out-of-control breathing, I could hear the sound of _his_ footsteps. They were irregular, easily distinguished from human footsteps. His spear scraped against the wall occasionally as he continued his pursuit.

I looked behind me one moment, and he was at the opposite end of the hallway. We turned the next corner, and I glanced over my shoulder again. I let out a scream when I realized he was _right behind me_.

I saw James look back, but there wasn't anything he could do; if he fired the shotgun, I would be hit as well. And fighting that thing with a pipe was sucicidal.

Pyramid Head thrust the spear forward, missing my right hip by less than an inch. The vicious looking spearhead just grazed by me, hitting the wall with a loud scraping sound and blocking my path. I ducked under it once more—and was abruptly halted when I felt an explosion of pain on my scalp. I realized with horror that Pyramid Head had grabbed me by the hair. My long hair would be the death of me.

James stopped and swung around, his eyes widening as I let out a scream. He attempted to move forward to help, but had to dodge a swipe from the spear.

I couldn't stop screaming. I knew _he_ could easily rip my hair clean off my head if he wanted to. And in this position, nearly on my knees and completely helpless, I was almost asking to be beheaded.

"Stop! No!" James yelled, but it was futile. Pyramid Head hoisted me up, and I continued to cry out with the pain.

In a state of complete panic, I did the only thing my mind could think of to do. I reached up with the gun in hand, pressing the muzzle to Pyramid Head's wrist, and pulled the trigger.

The report was deafening, but that didn't give me as much of a shock as my knees hitting the ground. I suddenly realized that I was free, and James was grabbing my free hand and pulling me up as Pyramid Head reached for me and ripped the shoulder of my t-shirt clean off when he couldn't get a good grip.

Once again, we ran, with the lumbering monster only feet behind us. He thrust his spear forward again, grazing my arm even as I dodged to the side. We turned one more corner, and I realized we had reached the final stretch. James picked up the pace, grabbing me by the wrist and forcing me to move even faster than before.

The doors of the elevator ahead were closing, and it was as if the building itself had a will of its own—and it was hell bent on getting us killed.

We weren't going to make it. Oh, God, Pyramid Head was _behind us _and we weren't going to get there in time. I could hear his footsteps, his muffled breathing.

James entered the elevator just as the doors were almost completely closed, and I understood with a horrible sinking feeling that my fate had been sealed all along. He still had a tight grip on my wrist.

I threw myself against the doors, willing them to open again, even as they continually tried to close on me. James yelled my name through the crack in the doors, trying to get them open, but they wouldn't budge.

Pyramid Head's footsteps grew louder and louder. He had slowed down; there was no rush now. It was done.

_"James!" _I cried one last time, desperately reaching for him when he lost his grip on my wrist.

Then a strong force slammed me against the doors, knocking the wind out of me. Unable to breathe, I stared at James with wide eyes for a moment—and saw him return that stare. He thought…no, _no!_ I wasn't dead yet! NO!

James stared at me, before falling against the back wall of the elevator, his eyes full of despair.

"Brittany…" he murmured, and then the doors closed him off from me forever.

I was pulled away from the doors and thrown against the wall, where I slid to the floor. Pyramid Head towered over me. I hyperventilated, tears streaming down my face as I gripped the gun with both hands. As the creature took a step forward, I pulled the trigger. The shot hit him in the shoulder and I saw blood spray out from the wound, but he didn't so much as flinch. I fired again, and again, and again. I lost count of how many times I shot at him. Some bullets ricocheted off of his helmet and some hit him where his vital organs _would_ be, had he been human. It made absolutely no difference. In the end, he still stood tall and threatening as ever.

In one last desperate attempt, I pressed the muzzle of the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. The only response I received was a loud _click_. The gun was empty.

The weapon dropped from my hands when I realized there was only one way this could end. I stared up at Pyramid Head, waiting for my inevitable execution.

He watched me for several agonizing seconds. I eyed the spear, wondering if I should get to my feet. I didn't want to be hit in the face. Was I going to be violated? Please, let him wait until after I was dead…oh, God…I was a _virgin…_

After a few more seconds, the monster turned away from me. My eyes widened, and I pressed myself against the wall, wondering what was going to happen.

Pyramid Head began to lumber away. My breath caught in my throat. Was this really happening? But why? _Why_ was he leaving?

My mouth dropped open. In my confusion, horror and frustration, I nearly shouted a question at him, but I stopped myself just in time. Did I _want_ to invite him back just so I could understand? No…no, I wanted to live.

The monster's footsteps faded as he made his way back down the hallway he had chased us through. My heart continued to beat in my ears, and I felt like throwing up again. I was alive.

It was then, though, that I realized Pyramid Head had essentially accomplished his mission—James thought I was dead. I was alive, but I was alone…in Silent Hill's otherworld. Without a flashlight.

Resting my head on my knees, I sat there and cried for a long time.

* * *

**A/N: ...And there you have it. **

**I don't know what you guys were expecting, but I think this story would seem _terribly _cut off if I ended it here. ;D Why don't we see how OC Brit deals with this little predicament, hmm?**

**It was extremely difficult putting Pyramid Head's creepiness into words. I still think I could have done it better, but nothing seemed to truly justify the feeling of panic I got when I first played through that chase scene. XD It's basically an "OH SHIIIIIT" moment for everyone who has played that game, I think. Poor Maria. **

**Next time: Searching for James.**


	9. Alone in the Town

**A/N: I'm aliiiiiiiive! So sorry for the wait. Final exams, graduation, work, a trip to Europe, and writer's block all combined to prevent me from finishing this chapter on time. At least now I'm finally updating, and it's a pretty good length, too. :D**

**There is a spoiler-free Silent Hill 3 cameo in this chapter. No, I'm not going to tell you who it is. You'll just have to read to find out. :P**

**Disclaimer: Konami owns the rights to Silent Hill, not me.**

It felt like I spent an eternity in that damned hallway, sobbing into my knees, but I really couldn't tell how long it had been. I had lost all sense of time since my phone had died. I regretted letting it die like that, too; now I wasn't even sure how many days I had been in this town. Had it even been a day yet? It felt like it had been at least two. Maybe three.

Exhausted, I finally lifted my head up and stared at the grey wall ahead. At least I could see in here…it was probably pitch black outside. What the hell was I going to do…?

Okay, I needed to get ahold of myself and take things into my own hands. I had known I couldn't rely on James forever, hadn't I? And Pyramid Head, for whatever reason, had just let me go…maybe that meant I wouldn't have to worry about him, if only for a little while. So what did I have left to fear? Just the normal monsters…and those could be killed, at least. Maybe I had a shot here.

I paused, taking several deep breaths. Okay. I could do this. If I had gotten past the first death scene, then that meant my fate wasn't set in stone. I had a chance at getting through this, and I needed to take advantage of it.

Right. First of all…reload the gun. I reached into my pockets, and froze when I noticed they were a lot emptier than I remembered. I pulled out three bullets from one pocket, and one from the other. And no matter how much I frantically dug around after that, I couldn't find anything more.

Four bullets left.

This new revelation almost caused me to start sobbing again. I felt for a hole in one of my pockets, and encountered none. That meant this was a result of my own stupidity; I had lost count of my bullets and now I was paying for it. If I had just _counted_ back when I had last reloaded this gun…I could've asked James for more ammo then! Why…why was I such an idiot?

With shaking hands, I loaded the four bullets I had left into the magazine and slid it back into place. Then I holstered the gun on the waistband of my jeans, leaned back, and hopelessly wondered what the hell I was going to do next.

Suicide was still an option. But despite what had happened, that still didn't change the fact that death terrified me…besides, what would happen if I died in a place like Silent Hill? Would I become a monster? Would I revive myself, like Maria did? Or would I be doomed to wander this place forever? I couldn't imagine _any_ soul finding a peaceful resting place in a town like this.

It wasn't worth it…not now, anyway. I had already cheated death so many times. Even when I had tried to kill myself, I had already conveniently spent all my bullets. If I was having such a good luck streak, why not see how far it could take me?

Good luck…I really was in a rough spot if I considered any of_ this _to be good luck.

"Calm down," I whispered to myself, but the sound of my own voice wasn't comforting at all. I looked around for a moment, before slowly getting to my feet.

It took a few minutes of deep breathing in order to push back the sudden dizziness I felt. It was okay. It was okay, I was still alive, everything was okay. I just had to keep telling myself that.

What first, then? I needed to find James. He would be headed to the Historical Society after getting the key from Rosewater Park. But I couldn't follow him into the prison without a flashlight. I needed to get a flashlight before doing anything else. Where could I find one?

There weren't any in the hospital, I knew that much…James was very thorough when he looked around, and if he had seen another flashlight, he would've picked it up for me.

There had to be _somewhere_ I could look…gas stations sold cheap crap like that, right? Texxon Gas might have some flashlights and batteries, too…but then again, the door might be locked. And would I even be able to _find_ the door with how dark it was outside?

I closed my eyes for a moment, picturing the map of Silent Hill in my head. I had played the games so much that I had the layout of the town mostly memorized; the only thing I couldn't remember was which streets would be blocked off and which wouldn't. James would've gone south, down towards that tunnel on Saul Street…I couldn't go that way. That tunnel was confusing and dangerous enough, even with a flashlight.

North, then. What was north? Heaven's Night, the bowling alley, and Texxon Gas. Then there was Nathan Avenue, which led either in the direction of Rosewater Park or the Historical Society. I couldn't specifically remember all of the little buildings that were off to the east, though, since not all of them had been explored in the games. One of them was…Jack's Inn? That was a motel…I remembered a save point being in the parking lot there. And hadn't that been a place in Silent Hill 3, too?

Either way, the motel wasn't going to help me…it was too wide open, and the doors might be locked. Dammit…

…I'd have go through Heaven's Night to get back to Nathan Avenue, anyway. It looked like the strip club would be my first destination. It was relatively close, too, wasn't it?

I bit my lip, shuddering. It wouldn't seem close, not when I was running through pitch darkness…

Heading outside at this point was suicide. But what else could I do? I obviously couldn't stay here in the hospital. There was no guarantee that this corridor would continue to be safe. Hell, I didn't even know if this place really _existed_. As far as I knew, it wasn't on the map.

After a second, I pushed away from my spot against the wall and approached the elevator. I hesitated for a second, and then reached out to press the call button. I didn't expect it to work, but in a matter of seconds, the doors slid open easily to reveal the place I had been so desperate to gain access to earlier. It was almost as if the building was mocking me.

I let out a heavy sigh, reluctantly moving forward and stepping into the small elevator. My only comfort was that the shaft was probably too small for a monster like before to slip in. That didn't ease the claustrophobia, though.

James…

The doors slid open, revealing a dark hallway. I could vaguely see if I squinted; the inside of the elevator was lit, and the elevator doors didn't slide shut as I quietly stepped out. I didn't know if it was broken or not, but I was grateful for the light.

The hall was completely silent, which was a slight relief to me. The nurses almost always made some sort of noise. There was still the possibility of Mannequins being out here, but at least all those things could do was kick me. They usually only reacted to the light of a flashlight, anyway. I hoped.

Once again, I tried to picture the map in my mind. If I went outside and turned left, I'd be running in the direction of Heaven's Night…where exactly was the entrance? It was in an alley, and there was a stairway leading up to it. There was no way I'd find that in the dark…

I walked forward a little more, attempting to look around. After a few minutes of searching, I managed to find the single unlocked door. It led to an office; this was where James found the information leading him to the letter and the wrench. The room was dimly illuminated with strips of pale light. I peeked between the blinds for a moment, and saw a street lamp just outside the window. There was nothing but pitch darkness beyond.

I pulled away from the window, not wanting to see what was lurking out there. Next, I looked on the desk. There wasn't much to see besides what I had already seen. It was dim, but I could make out the map and the note. I moved around to the other end of the desk, pulling open the drawers and fishing around inside. Nothing was there that felt like a flashlight…

My hand abruptly encountered something sharp, and I frowned, pulling it out and holding it up. A Swiss Army knife? I couldn't help but smile bitterly at that. Yeah, that tiny blade sure would be helpful in killing monsters…what a joke.

After staring at it for a moment, though, I pocketed it. In a place like this, a multipurpose thing like a Swiss Army knife could really be useful. Besides, it fit easily in my pocket anyway. Why not take it?

A thorough examination of the office revealed that there was nothing else for me to take. The rest of the papers on the desk were just medical records of patients that were probably long gone.

Resigned, I finally turned my attention back to the window. There was still nothing visible outside. I moved to look at the map on the desk again, memorizing my route. Move outside of the building, past the fence. Hug the wall from there on out, until I ran into that alleyway. I had to ensure that I kept at least one hand running along the wall so I would notice the gap. There wouldn't be time for second chances. I didn't know if Heaven's Night would truly be safe. I could only pray that it was.

I stepped out of the office, approaching the front doors now. My heart rate started to escalate. I felt myself break out in a sweat. There they were…two doors, directly in front of me. The only barrier between myself and the abyss. The threshold between life and death.

The weight of the gun was no reassurance. Even if I'd had a good supply of bullets, I wouldn't be able to aim in complete darkness. And there would probably be too many monsters to shoot anyway.

What was I going to encounter out there? Nurses? Lying figures? Or maybe the same kind of monster that had been on the elevator…

I realized I had hesitated for far too long. I needed to do it now, before I lost my resolve. It was tempting to hole up in this hospital, but that was no safer than running out there. This place was just as unpredictable as anywhere else. Nothing in Silent Hill was safe…nothing.

My entire body tensing, I gripped the doorknob. After one last moment's hesitation, I turned the knob—slowly, so slowly—and opened the door.

The stairs and the pathway leading to the street were lit by the lamp I had seen from the office. Everything else was dark. I stood still for a second, tense. I saw nothing and heard nothing.

One last shaky breath. I walked down the stairs, approaching the darkness, which was in fact so dense that it actually looked tangible. I moved closer and closer, feeling as if I was wading through water.

And then I was all but blind. I looked over my shoulder and saw the light, and felt reassured that the hospital hadn't vanished the second I turned my back. Not that it mattered…I would never be going back there anyway. When had that hell become my only sanctuary?

Gritting my teeth, I turned back towards the darkness and stepped forward, my hand touching the fence. Calm…I needed to stay calm and take it slow. If I just kept running my hand along the wall…

A scraping noise coming from behind me caused me to freeze. Dragging footsteps? It wasn't immediately behind me, but it was close enough to make me intensely uncomfortable. Feeling panicked, I immediately began to walk quickly, trying to keep my footsteps as silent as possible. The hand I kept running on the fence was my only indication that I was still on track. I could see nothing but blackness.

The scraping faded, but I only sped up my pace now that I had gone too far to turn back. The darkness pressed in on me as I moved, taking care not to trip over anything. Despite how quickly I tried to move, the road seemed endless.

Strange noises started about a minute into my trek. Scrapes and thumps came from all directions, some distant and some nearby. At one point I heard a feminine moan. The faint chattering of those insects—Creepers?—met my ears, and I constantly remained on edge, anticipating the sharp pain of something biting my foot. The pain never came.

My fingers continually dragged across the surface of the fence, and after a period of time they met something wet and sticky. I kept moving, my stomach lurching. There was no point in even questioning what that substance was; it was easy enough to guess. Whatever the source of the blood was, I didn't want to meet it.

The sound of my heart beating seemed to rise above everything else. It was wild, erratic. My breathing began to come in shallow gasps, noises that were increasingly difficult to muffle. Especially when I heard a loud screech coming from somewhere in the darkness.

I froze up on the spot, pausing to listen. It was distant, very distant. Probably on the other end of town. But the knowledge that he was _out here_, where I was, caused any shred of rationality I had left to fly out the window. My entire body began shaking uncontrollably, and I had to fight just to pry my fingers from the chain links of the fence beside me.

That was when I felt the breathing, the warm air against the back of my neck.

I ran. Somehow I managed to keep a hand against the wall, but I ran. There didn't seem to be anything following me, but I couldn't be completely sure because I couldn't hear much over my hyperventilating.

The fence gave way to a brick wall, and suddenly the wall was gone. It took me a moment to comprehend this, but I ducked into the alley quickly enough. I found the stairs by running straight into them, tripping on to a sharp corner and scraping my knee. I sucked in a breath, biting back a scream, and frantically gripped the railing to pull myself up. After that, I tripped up the stairs, found the doorknob, found it unlocked, and stumbled inside.

I unintentionally slammed the door behind me so hard that I heard some of the glassware in the room shake. Immediately after entering the room, I turned around and pressed my back to the door, panting heavily as my eyes scanned the room and adjusted to the faint illumination coming from the neon lights on the walls.

No monsters. It was just as I remembered it; the shift to the Otherworld hadn't affected this place one bit.

"Thank God," I whispered. After a second of standing where I was, I slowly made my way over to the bar and collapsed in to one of the stools, leaning my elbows against the counter.

I took a moment to stare at my left hand, which was covered in blood. For a moment I thought I was going to throw up, but then something surprising happened: my stomach growled.

The sound startled me so much that I actually gasped. My stomach growling…it sounded so alien to hear it after all this time. When I had all of this crap going on, how was I supposed to worry about getting food? Still…that weakness I felt wasn't just from fear. When was the last time I had eaten? And now that I was thinking about it, I hadn't had any fluids since James had offered me that water before we'd entered the hospital.

My stomach growled again, and I frowned. The last thing I remembered was driving home from school. I skipped lunch at school, which meant I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that day. How long ago had that been? I would try finding a clock around here, but all of the clocks in this town were probably wrong. Besides, that still didn't tell me the date.

I sighed, sluggishly standing up and moving around to the back of the bar. There was a door there that said "Employees Only." Well, there weren't any employees around at the moment to bitch at me, so I wasn't too concerned. I pushed open the door, and it looked like it led to some sort of kitchen-slash-storeroom. It smelled a little in here, and I traced the source of the smell to a large lump of rotting meat on the counter. Appetizing.

Once I had finished washing my hands, my attention was drawn to the sole fridge in the room. I opened the door, and judging from the cold air I instantly felt, it was still working. There was a stroke of luck…

There appeared to be some packaged meat in the fridge, but I really wasn't about to trust something like that. Not to mention I couldn't cook to save my life, and I didn't even know if the stove in here worked. I needed something easy.

After a few seconds of searching, I was able to find some jelly. Next came the bread, which was a little stale but at least not moldy. Then I found some peanut butter, and I was set. I made three sandwiches, and wrapped two of them in Saran wrap. If I could find something to carry them in, I could give one to James later…if I managed to ever meet up with him again.

No, thinking like that wasn't going to get me anywhere. I had somehow made it this far. I just had to keep pressing forward.

Frowning, I picked up the unwrapped sandwich, plopped it on a plate, and put it on the bar counter. Now…I needed something to drink before I became dehydrated.

The water that came out of the tap smelled like sulfur, so that was out. There were two bottles of water in the fridge; I set those next to the other sandwiches, intending to save them for later. A can of soda in the fridge caught my eye, and I smiled. Well, I was set.

Sitting at the bar as I ate, I pondered over my next actions. It was a lot easier to think calmly now that I no longer had to watch my back every five seconds. I couldn't stay here forever, but maybe I'd make this place my safe house of sorts in case I did run into any trouble outside. If I just ignored that stripper pole and the nude posters on the wall, I could get used to this.

Where would I go next, then? My first thought was the Historical Society, but…there was no guarantee I'd find James right away, and I still lacked a flashlight. I really didn't want to run around the prisons with no flashlight. And I definitely wasn't going through the Labyrinth alone.

I'd have to see what Texxon Gas had to offer. I didn't know how I was going to do that if I couldn't see a damn thing, but there had to be something I could do. Besides, at least the gas station was somewhat close…maybe I'd have a chance at making it back here even if I screwed up. It wasn't likely, but I could hope.

It didn't take me long to finish the food I had prepared, and it also wasn't long before I found myself contemplating a bottle of wine in the refrigerator.

…No, that was a stupid idea. Alcohol could cause dehydration, couldn't it?

Despite this thought, two minutes later I was at the counter pouring myself a glass of red wine.

"Piss off, logic," I muttered, sitting at the bar again. "Red wine's good for the heart, and my heart's taken quite a number."

Apparently this joke was hilarious, because I found myself suddenly caught up in a fit of laughter. The sound of my own laughter unnerved me after a moment, and I forced myself to shut up and finish my drink. This took some effort—the wine was so dry that it caused me to grimace, but dammit, I was _not_ going to die without ever getting the chance to have a drink at a legitimate bar.

The empty wine glass sat beside me as I leaned my elbows on the counter, deciding against pouring myself another glass. I blinked slowly, feeling comfortable and full and _safe._

As I laid my head in my arms, I vaguely remembered that wine also made me sleepy. Well, it was a little late for that now. My eyes were already closed…

* * *

_"Dammit, James," I grumbled as I stared intently at the TV. Said character was currently in the Blue Creek Apartments, dodging strange insects that seemed to be intent on biting him._

_For some reason, talking to myself while playing this game helped ease the shakes a little. Thus, within the first five minutes of playing, I had made James my bitch and blamed everything on him. I was controlling him, but whatever! I couldn't help my sucky horror game skills; I had never played a game like this before. It was James, all James. I loved him, though. He had grown on me the second he reached his hand into that dirty toilet._

_I snorted, abruptly distracted by that thought. Then those damned bugs ran up and bit his foot again, and James somehow managed to die._

_"What the hell?" I groaned. Okay, I really was pathetic at this game. I probably should've started out on easy mode…_

_I got through the game over screen, letting out a sigh as I loaded my game up again. Time to give it another shot. Hmm, what would James get killed by this time? Maybe the apartment building would just eat him. Anything was possible in Silent Hill, after all._

* * *

When I woke up, my first instinct was to sit bolt upright, looking around wildly. It took me a moment to remember where I was, and that I was not in fact in imminent danger. My back was sore from falling asleep hunched over, but I could live with that.

"Ugh…" I rubbed my eyes, groggy. How long had I been out? There was no way to tell…

Well, either way, I needed to get going…or at least get ready to leave. First I just had to grab the food I needed from the kitchen, and then maybe I could search the rest of this building for anything useful I could take.

I stood up, walking around the bar towards the door to the kitchen. I pushed it open, yawning quietly.

The sight that greeted me caused me to stop mid-yawn. A deformed and ragged looking canine was standing in the middle of the kitchen; it had found that rotting meat on the counter, pulled it to the floor, and was now digging in. Blood had seeped out from the meat, covering the floor and much of the dog's snout.

I let out a screech before I could stop myself, reaching for the gun with one shaking hand. The dog's head snapped up. It let out a fierce growl, its mouth open slightly to expose rows of long and jagged teeth.

Just as I saw its muscles bunch, I raised the gun and fired twice. The dog lunged forward into the oncoming bullets, which blew most of its head off. The corpse fell, sliding across the floor and stopping at my feet.

Holstering the gun again, I leaned back against the doorframe for a long time in an attempt to settle my stomach. Then I stepped over the body and went to the back of the kitchen, shutting the open door from which the dog had undoubtedly come. Then I went right back to trying not to throw up.

What the hell _was_ it? There weren't any dog monsters in Silent Hill 2. Then again, there weren't any elevator monsters, either…

Feeling a little less nauseous now, I approached the dead dog. It looked kind of like those dogs from the first game…agh, what did it matter? A monster was a monster. I really should've known better than to drop my guard like that. If I had woken up any later, that dog might've finished the meat and moved on to me. I had gotten too comfortable.

The sandwiches and the bottles of water were still on the counter where I had left them. I picked them up, setting them out on the bar. Okay, now I needed a bag to carry this stuff in…a change of clothes would be nice, too. My jeans were torn at the knees, and my right shoulder was exposed because Pyramid Head had torn that part of my shirt off when we were being chased. I really didn't like running around town with my bra partially exposed, especially when one of the monsters was a rapist. Not that it mattered what I looked like, he'd probably rape me regardless.

That was a bad train of thought. I needed to keep my mind off of things like that. After a moment of thought, I noticed a door behind the stage. That one also had a sign that read "Employees Only."

I opened this door, and was satisfied to find this room lit with a single dim lightbulb. It looked like this was the room where the strippers came to get ready for…well, their job. There were a couple of vanities lined up against one wall, and some large wardrobes against the other. A sofa was in the center of the room, and a medium sized handbag was leaning against one arm of it.

Well, that took care of another problem. I approached the handbag and rifled through it, not finding too many items of value. There was a little makeup case in there, a compact mirror, and a little bottle of prescription drugs. I frowned at the pills for a moment; they were in the familiar orange container, but it lacked a label. Shrugging, I just placed the bottle on to the side and continued looking through the back.

I had to snort when I pulled out a bottle of pepper spray. Yeah, that would save me, all right. Aside from that, I really couldn't believe that I was going to be running around Silent Hill with a freaking _purse_…ah, well, it couldn't be helped. I needed something to carry supplies in.

Nothing else in the bag was too useful. I set it aside and turned to the wardrobes, beginning my search for a change of clothes.

…Well, I should have known better. I was in a strip club, therefore all of the clothing articles I discovered were far too revealing for my tastes. My shirt may have had a chunk of it missing, but it still covered more than those other clothes.

Walking up to the only wardrobe I hadn't searched yet, I let out a sigh. Here was my last shot.

There were two hangers. On one was a dark pink long sleeved shirt, and on the other was a leopard print skirt.

"Hell no," I said immediately, and slammed the wardrobe doors shut.

I had to take a breather after that. _Her_ clothes…was this damned town mocking me?

Needless to say, I decided to stick with what I was wearing for the time being.

* * *

It took a while for me to work up the courage to leave again. I think the encounter with the dog helped; it reminded me that I really wasn't safe here either. The moment I got too comfortable anywhere, something was bound to catch me off guard. Besides, it was only a matter of time before the corpse of the monster attracted more monsters, and that wouldn't be good…

I memorized my route again, which wasn't too difficult because the gas station was pretty close. I decided to leave Heaven's Night through its other entrance; that way, I would hopefully be able to duck into the bowling alley if things got too scary. If I could even find it, that was.

Before I knew it, I found myself standing before the door that would lead out into the alley. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. I would have to turn right…and there would be a fence at the end of the alley. The gate to the fence had a simple latch. Undo that, run straight, turn left…that would lead up the road to Nathan Avenue. Texxon would be to the right.

I opened the door and once again plunged into darkness.

Things started out much the same as before. It was completely silent in this alley, and I found my way to the fence's gate easily enough. Then I stumbled my way through the open area that led to, finding a corner and turning left.

At the end of the road was a complete blessing: a street lamp. I could actually see where I had to go next! Jogging but trying to keep my footfalls silent, I made my way to where I needed to be, miraculously without tripping.

It was only when I stepped into the light that I realized what a mistake I had made. Stepping into the light meant I had just made myself visible to every single monster in the vicinity. After standing there for all of two seconds, I heard a gurgling noise come from somewhere behind me. As my heart leapt into my throat and I was turning in that direction, a nurse lurched into my field of vision with a scalpel in hand.

This one's corpselike skin had a reddish tinge to it, and its entire uniform was soaked with blood. These were the nurses that only appeared in the Otherworld realm. A second one appeared behind the first, and a third behind that. Something larger shifted in the darkness beyond, but I couldn't make out what it was and I had no desire to see.

The nurses stumbled towards me and I screamed, flying into a panic. Instead of running left to the bowling alley's nearby entrance like I should have done, I turned right and bolted, too terrified to even form a destination in mind.

The darkness swallowed me again. I heard moans coming from behind me. I increased my pace to a sprint, which didn't last long because I smashed into something and fell to the ground.

Eyes wide, I scrambled to my feet and felt something cold and clammy touch my leg. A loud squeal met my ears, motivating me to continue running despite having the wind knocked out of me. After a few seconds, I stumbled and sucked in a breath. I could hear the faint sound of babies crying somewhere off in the distance. I would never have thought such a sound could terrify me so much.

Something whistled past my ear, and I didn't wait to find out what it was. I resumed running as fast as I could, too blind to understand where I was going, but able to feel the road beneath my feet. It took all of my self-control to keep myself from crying hysterically. Crying would restrict my ability to breathe properly.

As I ran, I heard something hyperventilating to my left and I swerved to avoid it, unable to tell if I had given it a wide enough berth. Something tickled the back of my neck, I yelped, and I picked up the pace again.

It was impossible to tell how long I ran. I just knew that it was a frantic dash through hell and there were monsters coming at me from all sides. Not all of the sounds I heard could be matched to a specific monster, and I wasn't sure if I _wanted_ to see what was following me.

The entire thing was a blur of terror and desperation. I remembered seeing a street lamp and running towards it. In the next moment, a door was slamming behind me and I was sliding to the floor, my back pressed to it as I panted loudly and fought tears.

After I somehow managed to regain some sanity, I looked up and observed my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that this place was well lit, both with candles and electric lights. The second thing I noticed was the pews to either side of me, and the fact that I was in a church.

Though I'm not all that religious, I would still normally consider this place to be a safe sanctuary. In Silent Hill, though…The Order-controlled church was the root of everything. There was no Christian cross at the altar, which set me on edge a little.

"Well, hello there."

"Jesus Christ!"

The third thing I noticed, which also happened to scare the crap out of me, was a brown haired bespectacled man standing between some of the pews at the front of the church.

He turned around and smiled slightly, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "It looks like you're in the wrong church."

This guy definitely looked familiar. That voice, that tone, and especially that _smile_…

Calming down a little at the sight of another human being, I managed to get to my feet again. I was still a little out of breath, though. One of my legs was smeared with blood, and I was pretty sure it wasn't my own. I was also pretty sure that I probably looked like some sort of maniac at this point. I was a mess.

"I think that's the least of my concerns right now," I huffed, running a hand through my hair as I attempted to compose myself.

He watched me for a moment, and from the corner of my eye I saw him moving out from between the pews. I looked up and took in his clothing, the way he walked. It clicked in my head: this was Vincent, from Silent Hill 3.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" He voiced the very same question I wanted to ask him.

"Hiding from the monsters outside," I answered bluntly, my eyes fixed on him now that I knew who he was. He looked…younger. How many years from now would the events of the third game occur? No, it didn't matter. I wasn't going to stick around that long anyway.

Vincent raised his eyebrows, his smile growing a little. "…Monsters, eh?"

Those eyes. Yeah, this was definitely the real deal. Even from here, I could see that both of his eyes never completely focused on me; his left one was always slightly off. I was sure that if I got closer, I would note that one of his pupils was larger than the other. It was a bit disturbing.

"Don't play dumb," I muttered, frowning. "If you weren't aware of how messed up this town was, you probably would've run away screaming at the sight of me." To emphasize my point, I gestured to the blood that was all over my clothing.

"The church is a sanctuary to all," he said, sweeping his arm out around him. "What kind of person would I be if I denied you entry?"

His tone was soft, innocent. Mocking. I couldn't help but scowl; the slow, deliberate way in which he spoke, combined with his gesturing and dramatic facial expressions, only served to irritate me. Okay, this guy had nothing to do with what I had to accomplish. I really didn't want to stand around chitchatting unless he intended to help me in some way…and considering this was Vincent, I suspected he didn't.

I heaved a sigh, feeling exhausted all over again. Even I had to admit, though, this was a huge step up from running around outside like a maniac. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave Vincent's company if it meant I had to go back to _that._

"Have you seen anyone else come by here?" I met his unsettling gaze once more. "A guy named James? Blond hair, green coat, about your height?"

"You're the only one I've seen," he replied, shaking his head. The amused look on his face was unexplainable, and it bothered me.

I stared at the floor, disappointed. Of course James wouldn't have come here, wherever this was…Silent Hill 2 had next to nothing to do with The Order. Still, it would've been nice to find him sitting in one of those pews, waiting for me. Even though he thought I was dead.

"Though if you're one of _them_, perhaps I could be of some help," he said, causing me to look up again.

"One of them?" I asked as he approached.

"This town has been getting a little too…noisy, lately." He smiled, reaching to an inside pocket of his vest and pulling something out. "You need this, right?"

A flashlight. He was holding up a flashlight. I took a moment to register this, and immediately decided that Vincent was actually pretty great. When I reached out to take it, though, he held it just out of my reach.

"I need it, yeah," I said, trying my best not to glare. Now I understood why Heather lost her patience with him so often.

He shook his head slowly. "You think this is some sort of game, don't you? Following him around like some kind of…" He gestured vaguely, searching for the word. "...mindless _puppet_. Don't tell me you think it's going to make a difference."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb." Vincent repeated my words from earlier, a wicked smile on his lips. "You're just as guilty as the rest of us."

Just as guilty? Who was he to talk? He didn't even know me!

"I didn't do anything to deserve this!" I snapped, clenching my fists.

"Relax," he said, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture. His smile suddenly seemed less sinister. "I didn't mean anything by it."

He held the flashlight back out to me. "Here, take it."

After a moment's hesitation, I reached out and did so as Vincent gave me another one of his unnerving stares. He watched me for another second, before turning around and walking back up the aisle a ways.

He looked over one shoulder at me. "If this ends ideally for you, you can give it back later. If not, well…" Vincent shrugged, as if none of this was a big deal. I honestly didn't care if he got his damn flashlight back or not.

"What's your point, Vincent?" I asked, frustrated by his manner of speaking.

He turned fully to face me. "I don't remember telling you my name." His eyes were wide with surprise, but it didn't look genuine.

Though his reaction bugged me, I still wanted to smack myself for letting his name slip. I didn't want to stick around and explain myself, so I just turned back to the doors behind me.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," I said, looking over at him. He was smiling.

Then I turned on the flashlight, opened the doors, and plunged back out into the abyss. I could add the inner workings of Vincent's mind to the already growing list of things I didn't understand around here.

As the church's doors closed behind me, I braced myself for the horrors that were sure to come.

**A/N: Yes, Vincent. I tried dissecting the Silent Hill timeline to see how old he'd be at this point, but it just made my brain hurt. I wrote it based on the assumption that SH2 occurs maybe a few years before SH3, but I could be wrong. If it's a bit of a plot hole, oh well. It's not like Vincent's going to be a major character or anything. He probably won't even show up again. **

**Those little dream-flashback-things do have some significance. I think. Maybe. I don't know, I'm still toying with ideas in the back of my head. I'm going somewhere with all of this, I swear. :P**

**Don't speculate on the dog creatures, they're not related to OC Brit's or James' subconscious in any way. The Creepers are from SH1 and they aren't really related to James as far as I know; I threw some dog monsters in for the same purpose. I mean, there's a dog monster in almost every game...I feel like it's a staple of the town. :D ...anyway, I think that's all I have to say this time around. Review, review, review~~**

**Next time: more Otherworld fun? perhaps!**


	10. There Was a HOLE Here

**A/N: OH MY GOD I updated. Yeah, sorry that took like a month...o_o We're getting closer and closer to the hotel, so I had to take some time and work out a bunch of details involving the plot. I'm still not totally satisfied, but...nngh, the show must go on. I thought so hard about the whole thing that I was about to start tearing my hair out over it. XD**

**With that said, I hope you guys like the latest installment. ;) idk how I feel about it, but I tried. Hard. This chapter did not come easily.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to Silent Hill, I'd be too busy working on the next game to be writing this. :P**

The flashlight Vincent had given me was, unfortunately, not a pocket flashlight like the one James carried. Mine was the traditional tube-shaped variety that had to be held in one hand, meaning that I would only have one free hand to fire the gun. Considering the fact that I only had two bullets left and poor aim, I concluded that it would probably be best to save them for an emergency. Unless something was trying to eat my face off at point-blank range, I was going to have to deal with being defenseless.

There was a street lamp illuminating the steps in front of the church. I saw a small sign near the sidewalk; it read "St. Stella Church".

My mom's name was Stella…I felt a pang of homesickness, but pushed the thought away with a shake of my head. This was no time to be thinking about home. That name sounded familiar, though…I paused for a moment, warily scanning the area around me as I attempted to bring up my mental map of the town.

Ah, right. That was…all the way on the other end of Nathan Avenue.

I took a deep breath, gripping the flashlight tightly and attempting to keep myself composed. It was a long enough run from the hospital to the historical society…how far would I have to run now?

I couldn't help but look reluctantly over my shoulder at the church doors behind me. It was safe in there. I might have to explain my blunder to Vincent, but wouldn't it be worth it? I had originally clung to James because I thought it might raise my odds of survival. As things stood now, though, my chances of being reunited with him were extremely slim…did I really want to run around Silent Hill, _alone?_

Making a face, I turned back towards the darkness. I couldn't stay with Vincent. He had no intention of leaving this place. He probably didn't even see anything wrong with it.

I, however…I was going to get out of this town or die trying. I didn't have any other option. Staying here and living out my life in constant fear was worse than death.

Taking another breath to calm myself, I listened carefully to my surroundings. If there was anything out there, it was being awfully quiet. That didn't fool me, though; everything would probably come to life the second I stepped away from the safety of this building.

I lifted the flashlight, turning it on. I was pleased to see that the beam was brighter and more effective than James' flashlight; at least there was something to compensate for the drawback of having to hold it in one hand. Sweeping over the road with the flashlight's beam, I noted that the coast was clear for the time being. There weren't any sounds to indicate that something had noticed the moving light, which was further reassurance for me. Time to get going.

Slowly, I made my way on to Nathan Avenue. Then I halted, looking around me quickly. The flashlight illuminated buildings, abandoned cars, and a chain link fence on the other end of the road. It actually wasn't all that different from the way the town had been before the change. I knew it was _supposed_ to look this way, but it was hard to believe after my panicked run through the darkness earlier. I had started to worry that the town had changed to resemble the first Silent Hill's Otherworld or something.

I turned to the left, knowing that the right would lead me out of Silent—

Hold on. I couldn't help but freeze at that thought. If I went in the opposite direction from the Historical Society, I'd end up at that blocked tunnel, right? And then I could just go through the graveyard and that trail through the woods that James had taken. And after that…hey, James had left his car door open, right? Maybe he hadn't taken the keys out!

My heart raced at this new thought, but I immediately forced myself to abandon it. Not only was the detour out of the town insanely long, but I didn't know what I would meet along the way. I was here as Maria's stand-in, which meant the town probably wouldn't let me leave. Besides…all of the other roads leading out of town were destroyed in some way. It was probably safe to say that the road James had taken was gone too, especially since the town had changed like this.

Another deep breath. Wait for me, James…please.

With this last thought, I began to walk. The flashlight's beam trembled, and I fought to hold my hand steady. The fog was a little less thick now, but it was still present, making it harder for me to see clearly. I found myself jumping at shadows and fighting the urge to run for it. If I ran, I might end up panicking and going in the wrong direction.

After a few minutes of walking, I passed by a large building to my left; it appeared to be a bank. Where was that in relation to the museum? I couldn't remember. It looked like the entrance to Rosewater Park was up ahead…that meant I wasn't even close yet.

I stopped in the middle of the road, turning around in a full circle and examining my surroundings once more. I didn't dare walk too close to the buildings, for fear that something would drop on me from the roof, but…

This was bothering me. Several minutes had passed already, and yet I still hadn't seen a single monster. They were all gone? That didn't make sense. I hadn't been inside the church with Vincent for _that_ long. What had happened to the nurses I had seen? What about all of those strange noises I'd heard? Everything I had seen and heard was real, right?

The street was empty. Should I be celebrating or panicking? What could this mean…?

Alert, I turned back in the direction I wanted to go and continued onward. I couldn't help but pause cautiously every few seconds, doing double-takes to make sure I wasn't being followed. Did Vincent have something to do with this? No…that wasn't possible.

My train of thought was broken when I heard something crunching beneath my feet. Frowning, I trained the flashlight's beam on the road below me, and found something small and white scattered across the blacktop. Pills? I bent over and picked one up, examining it with a troubled frown.

Upon further examination, I spotted an open prescription bottle lying on the road a few feet away. There was no label on it…just like the bottle I'd found at Heaven's Night. Were the two related? More than likely…this was a little disconcerting.

Dropping the pill I'd picked up, I bit my lip and reluctantly continued onward. Even as I continued to walk, I still found the occasional pill sitting on the road, thrown into stark relief by the light of the flashlight. I couldn't stop myself from looking around again, and taking note that I was still completely alone.

More time passed. The street lamp where I had begun my blind run was visible up ahead; my uneasiness grew as I was reminded of just how dangerous this place had been before. Then the sound of my footsteps changed, and I realized I had stepped into something wet.

I froze, hesitantly aiming the light downwards. There was an enormous pool of blood in front of me—just as I realized what it was, the metallic scent hit me and I almost wanted to vomit.

Swallowing bile, I quickly examined the area around me once more. Still, nothing.

When I turned the flashlight back on the bloodied road, I noticed that there was a single shape resting in the center of it. It shined, the silver reflecting the light and looking almost sinister. A revolver.

Although a voice in the back of my head was screaming at me not to, I stepped forward and picked the gun up. Something was dangling from it…a key? Yeah, it was a key. The key's tag was somehow lodged in a tiny gap between the cylinder and the frame. I gave the key a hard tug, and it didn't budge. The tag was wedged pretty firmly in there. Dammit…If I had just known more about guns, I could've taken the stupid thing apart and had this figured out in no time.

Well, I guess there was the option of taking the revolver with me. It was probably dangerous to use it with something jammed between its parts, but at least then I'd have the key…

I shuddered. For some reason, though…I _really_ didn't want this thing with me. It was giving me the creeps. Something about this scene just felt _off_…

If I could just soak the tag enough, maybe it'd just get soggy and break off. Maybe spit on it? No…my mouth was too dry.

The pool of blood in front of me was in a dip in the road, so it was actually about half an inch deep in the center. I gritted my teeth, knowing how this was going to go. I didn't know what the key would be used for, but I also didn't know for sure what I was going to encounter up ahead. I _needed_ this.

Moving hastily, I bent down and scooped up some of the blood into my palm, splashing it on to the gun. Then I gave the key a hard tug. Nothing.

I repeated the process five times, and tugged at the key again. After a few seconds of strained effort, the tag suddenly broke off, and the revolver clattered to the ground. I stared at it uneasily for a moment, and then stared at my bloodstained hands. When I felt the urge to vomit make itself known once again, I huffed and wiped my hands on my already dirty jeans. Then I immediately pocketed the key, before marching on past the pool of blood. I didn't want to stick around that place any longer.

I passed by the final street lamp, and it continued to shrink behind me until its glow was just a speck in the distance. Now I was on the pitch black part of the road leading up to the historical society. There were no longer any buildings nearby; just the lake to my right, and the trees to my left. This was near where I had first woken up…

I wasn't sure how much time passed while I walked down that final stretch of Nathan Avenue. It had felt long enough the first time I made my way along this road; this time around was only worse. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had been through already, and how far I still had left to go. The prison, the labyrinth, the hotel, and finally…how _would_ it end? Maybe that depended on James more than it did on me. Surviving was hard enough. How could I be expected to worry about this stuff, too?

Once I made it to the museum, I would have to figure out how to meet up with James. That separation had held me back by at least an hour…probably more, since I had made the mistake of falling asleep at Heaven's Night. Even if I sprinted at this point, the likelihood of me catching up was slim…especially since rushing would probably get me killed anyway. Maybe there was some kind of shortcut I could take.

The road continued to stretch onward. I put one foot in front of the other, keeping the flashlight's beam fixed on the area in front of me. There was no point in stopping every five minutes like I had been doing before; I knew I'd just see the same scenery, the same emptiness. How far away from the rest of town was I? A mile? Two miles? It felt so long.

My eyes widened a little when I saw a light up ahead. It had been growing steadily, but now it looked close enough for me to jog to. Was that lamp in front of the historical society? Yes…without a doubt.

I drew in a breath when I felt my foot bump into something; I had shifted my attention away from the road in front of me for a split second, and hadn't seen the obstacle. I tensed a little, training the flashlight down at my feet.

The light revealed a bloody, deformed mass of flesh. I took a step back when I saw it twitch. Then it seemed to fall still again, so I paused to examine it as quickly as I could.

It was a Lying Figure. I was able to figure that much out without too much trouble; what concerned me was the fact that it was _dead_, and it looked like it had been sliced nearly clean in half. The two halves were separated slightly, revealing what I guessed to be internal organs—or something else. I wasn't a specialist on monster anatomy.

Taking another slight step backwards, I moved the flashlight's beam further up the road. I felt myself tense even more when I saw the body of another monster, slaughtered in much the same manner as the one before. As I continued moving the light upwards, more and more bodies were revealed. The reason for the lack of monsters began to dawn on me, and I was hit with an overwhelming sense of dread.

That was when I heard a loud screech, and I immediately lifted the flashlight all the way to reveal what was directly ahead of me. My heart felt like it had stopped.

Pyramid Head stood at the end of the trail of corpses, and he had a Mannequin impaled on the end of his Great Knife. He was pulling at one of the thing's legs, causing it to let out a strange, anguished sounding cry; my mouth fell open when I heard a sickening _rrrip,_ and the blade sliced clean through the monster's flesh. A large amount of blood fell to the road, and Pyramid Head continued to wrestle with the thing, pulling the wound he'd created up to his waist, pressing it against him—

Oh, God.

I was going to scream. I was going to scream.

Instead I opted for something halfway between a gasp and a sob, choking on my own horrified tears. I didn't wait to see if Pyramid Head noticed me; I bolted, nearly tripping over the bodies near my feet.

Within the next minute I was crashing through the doors of the historical society, screaming at the top of my lungs and making far too big of a racket. I nearly got lost in a maze of rooms, cutting my hand on the glass of a broken display case when I grabbed at it to steady myself. After a panicked few minutes, I spotted the ominous hole in the wall and made a dash for it. In doing so, I nearly ended up tripping and falling down that enormous staircase. Instead, I hurriedly gripped the edge of the hole and started making my way down.

Even with me moving as fast as I possibly could, it was still a long walk. The fact that I couldn't see the end of the staircase due to the darkness only served to bother me more. My fear of heights didn't help; it felt like the darkness I saw ahead was just a black hole I could fall into at any time. The sheer amount of stairs started to make me dizzy, and my legs already felt weak.

There were other noises coming from somewhere around me, but I was too concentrated on what I was doing to pay attention to anything else. I just had to get down the stairs. I just had to…

Finally, a door appeared and I crashed right through it. I was in the prison. Now that I was past the stairs, I shut the door behind me and attempted to calm myself a little. I was inside…it was okay. It was over. Time to catch up to James.

Taking a breath in and letting it out slowly, I paused to look around. Okay…after this room would be a series of hallways…just one step at a time. There was nothing of interest in the small room, so I braced myself and moved through the next door.

The hallways were empty, save for the occasional Lying Figure corpse. These looked different than the ones I'd seen earlier; they seemed to have been beaten to death. I had a sneaking feeling that a rusty pipe had been involved here. I wasn't sure how to tell what time the monsters had died, but not all of the blood surrounding them was completely dry. All I could really do was press onward, then.

Since I had seen this area plenty of times before, I knew which door to head for. When I tried the door at the end of the hall, it opened easily, revealing a small room.

I froze. The floor had a dark hole in the middle of it.

I had been trying not to think about it up until now, but this part involved jumping into a lot of holes. Holes I couldn't see the bottom of. Like jumping down a pitch black elevator shaft…

Unlike James, I wasn't half-crazy. I wasn't here for the sake of anyone but myself. Therefore, I didn't want to do anything that could potentially _kill_ me. I was terrified of heights, and I absolutely hated the weightless feeling of falling through the air. How the hell could I just trust that everything would turn out okay if I jumped?

The muffled sound of breathing behind me derailed my current train of thought, and I realized that it had already been decided for me. Pyramid Head was standing right behind me, blocking the only exit.

I jumped.

* * *

_This was weird. I couldn't help but frown at the change in surroundings; first James had gone through apartments, then a hospital, then a prison, and now...this place was strange. It was just a bunch of hallways…none of this really made sense. I checked the map, only to find that James was drawing one himself. Odd._

_After taking out a couple Lying Figures, I guided James over to the first ladder I saw. Ladders, huh? I really didn't like not being able to define what the hell this place was. It looked a lot like a maze, and it was weirding me out._

_The ladder led down to a cramped hallway with grate floors; I could hear the telltale sound of Mandarins moving around. Sighing, I made James walk towards the camera, wanting to find a way out of this area as soon as possible._

_James let out a grunt; I realized he was being attacked by something, but I couldn't see any Mandarins below him. Eh? The flashlight briefly caught the image of moving flesh behind James. Oh, was that a Lying Figure? I made him turn around._

_"Oh, Jesus!" I gasped, just as Pyramid Head dealt the finishing blow. James fell to the ground and the game over screen came on. Heart still pounding from the sudden shock, I dropped the controller and turned the console off while muttering a few choice words._

_It was official: I really, really didn't like that place. It was going to take a little while for me to build up the courage to play again…_

* * *

Somehow I must have passed out during the course of the jump, because when I came to, I couldn't remember hitting the ground. All I could recall was the blind terror I had felt, and the fact that somehow the hole had led to a dark abyss with no walls.

The floor I was lying on felt like concrete. I shifted a little, groaning when I felt a painful ache make itself known. The side I had landed on felt like one big bruise…though it was better than being dead.

Once again, I couldn't see anything. I had to stop for a moment just to fight off a panic attack; this reminded me of the time I had woken up in the hospital's basement. Sitting up, I took a deep breath. Wherever I was, it smelled musty.

After a few seconds of crawling around on my hands and knees, I managed to find what felt like the flashlight. I found the switch, flipping it off and back on again. The flashlight blinked, before sputtering out. Biting my lip, I hit the flashlight a couple of times, hoping the batteries were just out of place or something. A tense moment passed, and then the light came on once more.

I breathed a sigh of relief. This was the last place I wanted to be stuck in without a flashlight. I would have to try protecting this thing somehow the next time I made a jump like that…hopefully there wouldn't be a next time. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure there was.

I stood up, shining the light around to examine my surroundings. Strangely enough, I was in a small, bare room with concrete walls. There was a ceiling, which made absolutely no sense, seeing as I had dropped through a hole to get here. Still…I didn't recognize this place. How did that work out? I was pretty sure that hole was supposed to lead to a well…

There was a single metal door leading out of the room. Not in the mood to stick around, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it, moving out into a dark hallway.

The hallway was extremely cramped—even with my arms held straight down at my sides, I only had about three inches of space between me and the wall on either side. It wasn't long before I could feel claustrophobia kicking in, and my breathing quickened.

I looked behind me out of habit, having the usual urge to turn back and hole up in a safe room. This time it looked like I didn't have an option; the door I had just come through had vanished. Now there was nothing but a dead end behind me.

Disturbed, I faced forward again and continued onward.

Eventually other intersecting hallways appeared, and I had to pause at each intersection to listen and make sure nothing was coming. It was times like this that I wished I had a radio of my own. Not that it really made much of a difference…I couldn't fight back if I _did_ encounter a monster, anyway.

What the hell was this place? It didn't look anything like the labyrinth I remembered. The walls and floor were made of some kind of stone, and as I moved deeper into the maze of hallways, everything became more and more covered in blood.

Switching the flashlight over to my left hand, I shakily pulled out the handgun. I knew I only had two bullets left, but I felt dangerously vulnerable at this point. Holding on to the gun was at least a little reassuring.

I turned down yet another long hallway, and abruptly felt dizzy. I clutched my stomach, bending over. Ugh…was it the smell of blood making me sick? No…that stabbing pain I felt…It was just like that time in the hospital.

"Nngh…" I groaned, shaking from the pain. Now wasn't the time for this…dammit!

After a few seconds I forced myself to straighten, still worried about my surroundings. The pain started to fade. Even as it did, I noticed that things had changed in that brief time. The blood on the wall looked like it was moving of its own accord, and the walls seemed to hum with a life of their own. Somehow, staring at my surroundings was making my vision blur and my head pound.

Somewhere behind me, I could hear the echo of a woman's sobbing. I turned, staring into the darkness beyond the reach of my flashlight.

"James…" That voice…

The crying continued, and I stood tense and alert despite how sick I felt.

"James…James…James…"

_"Shut up!"_ I screamed, stumbling backwards. My heart was pounding. I could barely breathe.

The sobbing escalated into a keening wail, and a corpselike hand reached out of the darkness and clawed at the floor near my feet. That was more than enough to get me to turn tail and run.

I wasn't sure where I was going anymore, or if I was being followed. Every turn led me to more bloodied corridors, and the more I ran, the weaker I began to feel. After what felt like an eternity of running, I came to a completely out-of-place looking wooden door. There were bloody handprints all over it.

While I normally would've been wary upon observing this, all I wanted to do right now was get the hell out of that hallway. I turned the doorknob, and was horrified to find that the door was locked. As I panicked and took time to register this fact, I heard the sound of something dragging itself across the concrete floor on the other end of the hallway. The sound was getting louder and louder.

That was when I remembered the key I'd picked up earlier, and uttered a prayer while I frantically dug through my bag and pulled it out. My hands were shaking almost too badly to get the job done, but eventually the key slid easily into the hole. It worked!

Whatever was pursuing me was now getting far too close for comfort. I hurriedly opened the door, pocketing the key again and crashing right through. I slammed the door behind me, pressing my back against it and attempting to catch my breath.

It didn't sound like anything was trying to get in, so I cautiously stepped away from the door and turned my attention to the room I had just entered.

This…this was _my_ room.

My mouth fell open. How could this be possible…? Everything was exactly the way I had left it, right down to the stack of Silent Hill games I had sitting on my TV stand.

"Cute," I muttered, picking one up and not feeling amused at all by the irony of this situation.

It was very strange to be back in such a familiar place, and yet know that I wasn't _really_ there at all. When I tried looking out of my room's single window, all I saw outside was another wall. But why was this place even here?

A small shape was lying in the center of my bed. I frowned, moving closer to pick it up so I could examine it more closely. It was a small glass vial filled with a red liquid. An ampoule? Ugh, that liquid looked like it could be blood…

There was a label on the vial, and I turned it over to read the somewhat messy handwriting.

_Ipomoea lacunosa extract_

Ipo…what? It was clearly the scientific name for something, but I had no idea what. Well, it was an ampoule, so maybe it could be helpful. I never knew what I might need later…there was no sense in just leaving it here.

I slipped the vial into my bag, and stopped to look around the room one last time. There didn't seem to be anything else useful in here. My closet door just led to another wall, which unfortunately meant I was still stuck in my disgusting clothes for the time being.

Chewing on my lower lip, I turned back to the door I had come in from. I had no choice but to go back out there now…was I really ready?

Well, it wasn't like I had a choice. I walked up to the door, opening it and stepping back out into the hallway.

All of the blood was gone. The walls were back to being plain concrete, and the sick feeling I'd had earlier didn't come back. I took a deep breath, thankful for the change. Whatever had happened earlier…I wasn't sure if I could've endured it for long.

I continued past the door I had exited through, down to an area I hadn't explored yet. The hallway continued on for what felt like several minutes. Then it suddenly opened up into a room; I stopped, looking around briefly, and saw that it was a normal concrete room like the one I had woken up in.

What caught my attention were the large metal doors directly across from me. There was something etched into them in red.

_Those who walk in shadows_

_walk with Death._

I stared at these words for a long time, my eyes focused on the word "Death". I couldn't understand what it meant. Was it some sort of warning? But there was no way _not_ to walk in shadows and darkness around here…

After committing the phrase to memory, I took a breath to calm myself and pressed onward through the doors.

The doors opened to reveal yet another small room with a hole in the floor. I stopped, staring at the hole and feeling sick. But it was too late…I had already come too far to even consider turning back.

I left the flashlight on, putting it in my bag in the hopes that it would be more cushioned that way during the fall. I didn't know if the impact would kill me this time around, or if there would even be an impact at all. I just knew that I had no choice but to jump.

Feeling nauseous already, I stepped forward and allowed myself to drop into the darkness.

* * *

It was easier for me to gather my bearings this time around. The flashlight was still on when I awoke; I hurriedly grabbed it, immediately examining my surroundings.

Long hallway, rusted metal bars everywhere…I was in the prison.

I couldn't exactly say I was comforted by the familiar surroundings, but it was at least a welcome change from those strange corridors from before.

The sound of erratic footsteps quickly put me on the alert, and I looked up to see a Lying Figure stumbling my way. I quickly stood up, backing away and giving it a wide-eyed stare. There was nothing I could do to fight back…my only choice was to run.

So, I did the logical thing and turned to run in the opposite direction. A bloody hand reached out from between the prison bars and attempted to grab me; I threw myself to the side to avoid it, running past without looking back. I didn't _want_ to know what was in that cell. I just wanted to escape.

The door at the end of the hallway led into another hall, this one populated with even more Lying Figures. I was forced to dodge between them, nearly getting sprayed with acid in the process. The next few minutes involved a mad dash through random rooms as I frantically attempted to remember where I was supposed to go next.

I eventually ended up in some room I didn't recognize, nearly tripping over a human corpse as I stumbled inside. There was a desk in one corner of the room, and Eddie was leaning against it. The gun he held was still smoking. My heart just about leaped into my throat.

"Eddie?" I said, trying to sound genuinely surprised rather than horrified. He had already noticed me; ignoring him and leaving now might only anger him.

"It's you," he said, frowning at me. He seemed to notice the way my eyes were drawn to the corpse at my feet, and he immediately raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I didn't do it!" Eddie insisted. "He was like this when I got here."

Sure, Eddie. That was always his excuse. Though whether I believed it or not didn't matter; I didn't want to upset someone as unstable as him, so I was just going to go along with whatever he said.

"Right," I said slowly, nodding. I had to stay calm, I had to stay calm…

Eddie's eyes narrowed slowly, and he turned to face me a little more. "What, you don't believe me?"

"I never said that!" I replied. "It's just…Eddie, have you seen James? I'm looking for him."

I had to shift the subject away from the dead body in front of me. I had to get out of here before he noticed how utterly terrified I was.

It worked. Eddie's hostility seemed to fade a little, and his shoulders slackened.

"James? Yeah, not too long ago. Dunno where he is now, though."

Even though I was just trying to distract Eddie from a certain other topic, I couldn't help but feel relieved at the knowledge that James had been around here. Maybe he was still here and I could catch up to him.

"So he's here," I said, letting out a sigh. "Good. I'm gonna keep searching, then."

"Why do you wanna find James so much, anyway? What's so special about him?" Eddie asked as I was turning to the door.

I paused, my hand halfway to the doorknob. Why did I have to reunite with James? Well…I just _had_ to. I couldn't do this without him. Besides, I didn't know what else I was supposed to do.

"…I've got something important to tell him," I lied. I honestly couldn't think of a good reason as to why I felt so obligated to follow him. I was just…too scared to be alone.

"Take care of yourself, Eddie," I said when Eddie didn't immediately reply. Rather than wait to see his reaction, I just opened the door and let myself out.

And then I bolted down the hallway, wanting to get as far away from him as I could. I never would have thought that a man could scare me just as much as the monsters around here.

Though I knew for sure that I was in the prison, I didn't recognize where I was. I spent a while running blindly down random corridors, getting more and more lost, until I opened a door and encountered a room without a floor. Another hole.

I looked behind me, seeing a few Lying Figures approaching from down the hall. This wasn't right…this wasn't the same hole James was supposed to go down. But there was nowhere else for me to go…

I took in a shaky breath, and let myself fall.

* * *

**A/N: Good news, everyone! This is the last James-less chapter! XD Here's hoping it didn't suck.**

**So, speculate all you want. Yes, a lot of the stuff in this chapter has meaning behind it. Hopefully I didn't throw out anything blatantly obvious. I'm trying so hard to match Team Silent, and I think all the effort is killing my brain. XD**

**Uuuugh, it's almost 3 am over here. I can't seem to write this fic during the daytime. I just blank out. o_o**

**Reviewwwww! I will shower you with love if you do so! :D**

**Next time: Jaaaaaames! We missed youuuu!**


	11. James

**A/N: I updated, guyyys! :D**

**I like this chapter. It only took two days to write (don't hurt me!) but I didn't get around to writing it till yesterday since I had been busy with one of my other fics. Anyway, this chapter's chock-full of James, so you can squeal happily now. XD Not a lot gets accomplished here plotwise, but we do cover a very important game event. ;)**

**And no, OC Brit is not going to pull a Maria and try to sex James up (though we all know James is a stud, lol).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill! D:**

When I finally awoke, I had to let out a laugh.

This room. I should've known things would end up like this. How else would I play my part? I began to laugh even harder, but it wasn't long before the laughter had dissolved into pitiful sounding sobs.

The room I was in was rather bare. The walls were dirty and the floor was made of concrete. In one corner was the bed I was currently lying on, and sitting a few feet away from me was a wooden chair. Metal bars divided the room down the center; on the other side were three evenly spaced stools.

It took me a few minutes, but eventually I managed to stop crying. I couldn't let myself break down like that; in this place, it was all too easy to let yourself become hysterical. It was hard enough to survive when I was in a normal state of mind…I didn't want to take any more risks than necessary. Not when I was alone.

There was a single light in this cell; it was the cheap, hanging light bulb sort of fixture, the kind that always made me feel like I was in a basement or an attic. Either of those places would feel normal compared to where I was now, though. Wasn't this place in the labyrinth? Was it real, or was I somehow in a place formed by James' subconscious? I hated how none of this ever made sense…

I sat up, the bedsprings letting out a loud creak at the movement. My bag was sitting on the floor next to the bed; I picked it up, pulling out the flashlight and turning it off to save the battery. Then I patted my side, checking to make sure the gun was still holstered there. It was. Well, everything important was accounted for, then. What now?

There was a single door on my side of the bars. When I tried it, I was unsurprised to find it locked. On the other side of the bars, I could see a staircase leading up into the darkness. For the time being, nothing seemed to be there.

After walking around the room for a few seconds, I confirmed that there really was no way for me to escape and I ended up sitting down in the wooden chair. This was all I could do, really…wait. If James came, I could only hope talking to him would calm me down rather than having the opposite effect. Or maybe he had already come and left while I was out. That thought caused me to turn the chair slightly so I could see the door to the room out of the corner of my eye.

The thing that scared me most was that I didn't know what had killed Maria at this point in the story. That was what was so disturbing about it; she had just _died_, and how it happened was pretty much left to the imagination. It had looked like she suffered some kind of head trauma, but that didn't explain the excessive amount of blood that had been left on the bed. I didn't know what I should be anticipating. In a closed in space like this…what was I supposed to do if Pyramid Head showed up?

I forced myself to take a deep breath, unclenching my fists. I had been so tense that one of my nails had broken the skin on the palm of my hand; I paused to stare at the tiny injury, before wiping the blood on my jeans. Just another wound to deal with. It would probably get horribly infected.

That strange pain from earlier suddenly came again, and I quickly found myself doubled over with my forehead resting on my knees. I sat there for a good thirty seconds or so, shaking, before it slowly began to subside. Then it just vanished altogether, causing me to wonder if I was somehow going crazy.

When I felt somewhat normal again, I paused to examine myself. There weren't any cuts or bruises on me that I couldn't explain, and I didn't _feel_ sick…tired, maybe, but not sick. So why did I keep getting these weird pains…? If it happened to me when I was fighting monsters or something, I might get killed because of it. Wasn't there some way to stop it?

It was troubling. Most things in Silent Hill didn't seem to make sense at first glance, but there was always some kind of reasoning behind it, however obscure it may be. On the other hand, _this_ Silent Hill obviously hadn't been created by game designers, so the same rules might not apply. Ugh, it was just too hard to figure out!

Whatever. I guess figuring it out wasn't important; I'd always enjoyed speculating on everything when I had been playing the game, but this _wasn't_ a game and picking it apart wasn't necessarily going to help me survive. I was less likely to drive myself crazy if I just stopped thinking too much about it.

I frowned, pushing away all of my previous thoughts. Focus on what was important…what was I going to do if something came after me? I had two bullets left. Regardless of if it was Pyramid Head or…something else, I would use those bullets. Pyramid Head was too powerful…if I tried to run around him to get through the door, he would grab me without a doubt. What followed after would almost certainly be rape. If Pyramid Head came through that door, I would use the bullets on myself.

If it was something else, maybe I could dodge around it…but I didn't know what _'something else' _could be. In Silent Hill 3, there had been a point where just staying in a certain room long enough would kill the main character. Then there had been another part where a red light could kill her. I didn't know if what was coming was something I could attack, or even hope to escape.

I let out a sigh, staring at my shaking hands. Maybe it was hopeless. Maybe this was where my luck ran out after all. I didn't…want to die…

The sound of footsteps caused me to look up slightly. There was a light coming down the staircase on the other side of the bars. Oh…so I hadn't missed seeing James after all.

A strange feeling of elation and relief filled me, but at the same time I couldn't get rid of the dread that had settled in the pit of my stomach. I didn't know how to feel anymore. He was back, but then he would leave…and why _was_ I so damn reliant on James? Why couldn't I do this alone? When did he become my top priority in this place? Why couldn't I be sure of one single goddamn thing?

The footsteps grew louder and louder, until suddenly they stopped and there was a small intake of breath. I looked up, and felt my eyes widen in an expression of surprise. It really was James standing there…it seemed like forever since I had last seen him.

He looked different. His hair was in slight disarray, though it seemed to have stayed tamer than my own due to its length. He was still wearing the familiar green coat, but the right sleeve was torn and the material was damaged in various other places. The upper part of his jeans was covered in blood and grime, as if he'd been wiping his hands on them the same way I had been doing with my own. All in all, I wasn't the only one who looked like they had gone through hell and back.

"You're alive!" James' shocked words distracted me from my examination, and my eyes were once again drawn to his face. He stepped forward, taking a closer look at me. "Brittany, I thought that thing killed you! Are you hurt bad?"

"Not at all, silly," I muttered, and instantly regretted it. I was just mocking James by saying exactly what Maria was supposed to say, but the bitter inside joke only made me feel worse instead of venting my frustrations. I heaved a sigh and added "I'm fine," in a louder voice.

James' brow drew together in confusion, and the way he slumped into the stool nearest him further illustrated his disbelief. He continued, gesturing vaguely with his hands as he fought to understand.

"But—but that thing, it stabbed you! I saw, just as the doors were closing—!"

"James, calm down," I said, leaning forward and trying to remain calm myself. "Listen to me. I wasn't stabbed. It just shoved me into the doors really hard and it knocked the wind out of me. I know what it must've looked like, but I'm _alive_, okay?"

He just gave me a bewildered look, as if what I'd said hadn't registered at all. "You're…really not hurt? But how…if you were left alone with it, how did you…?"

I lowered my gaze to the floor. This part confused me, too. "I don't know. After you were gone, it just…lost interest or something. Just when I thought it was going to kill me, it left."

"…It just left?" James paused, staring hard at me for a moment. He seemed to be a little calmer now, but he was still giving me that look of numb shock. I didn't like that look.

"I don't understand it either!" I insisted, frustrated. "Just look at me, James. Don't I look like I've been running around this fucking town for God knows how long searching for you? Because I have! Do I look like a ghost to you or something—_fuck!_ Just—just—!" I broke off, clenching my fists angrily. I had quoted Maria mid-rant without even meaning to!

"Brittany!" James said loudly, and suddenly he had reached through the bars to grab my hand, squeezing it tightly. I looked up, gasping a little. Suddenly he was the one who was painfully calm, and I was the one freaking out. When had we traded positions?

He stared down at my hand for a split second, and then his eyes moved back up to mine. "I believe you. I know you're okay. You're right in front of me. I'm just…confused."

I took a slow and shaking breath, forcing back the tears that threatened to come. The warmth of James' hand holding mine—actual human contact—was comforting beyond belief. I didn't want him to let go, even though I knew he'd have to. It was so _hard_ to do this alone. I didn't want him to leave me…

"It's just like I said," I told him in a quiet voice. "That…Pyramid Head thing just left once you were gone. And after that, I couldn't find you again." I paused, chewing on my lower lip. "I saw the map in the hospital office. I figured you had gone to the Historical Society, so I followed you. After that…I ran into that thing again, and jumped down a bunch of weird holes, and I guess I somehow ended up here…"

James' grip on my hand slackened. He lowered his eyes to the floor. "I promised I wouldn't leave you alone…I'm sorry."

"The elevator doors would've closed on me no matter what happened. It's not like you could've come back down to save me," I said, my shoulders slumping a little. Then I squeezed his hand lightly, causing him to look up again.

"James," I said, "do you have any bullets for the handgun left? I'm running low."

He stared at me for a second, and then shook his head. My hopes plummeted. "I thought I wouldn't need them anymore. I got rid of them so I wouldn't have to carry them around."

"Oh," I choked out, dropping his hand so I could press both of my palms to my forehead. I let out a hysterical little laugh, cutting myself off almost immediately before I lost control of my emotions. I smiled ruefully at the floor. "Yeah. I should've known."

"Brittany?" James prodded, and I could sense his frown. "How many bullets do you have left?"

"Two," I replied, laughing bitterly. One for me, one for you.

He paused, examining his own arsenal. I almost let out another laugh when I noticed that none of his weapons could be fit through the bars, which were just close enough together to prevent us from doing much of anything. I didn't remember it being this way, but for all I knew this was just the town's idea of a cruel joke. Or maybe it was James' mind causing this, or my own; I didn't know anything anymore.

To my surprise, James didn't say anything when he came to the same conclusion. He just got to his feet, startling me.

"What are you…?"

"Is that door locked?" he asked me, gesturing to the door behind me. I nodded slowly. His face was set in an expression of grim determination. "I'm coming to get you, then."

"Hold on," I said and immediately got to my feet, my hands gripping the bars until my knuckles turned white. "You're leaving?"

"I'm going to find a way around so I can get you out of there," he explained. "I'll be there soon. I promise."

When he turned to leave, I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat, pulling him back. He looked over his shoulder at me. I stared at him in a few moments of agonizing silence. Finally, I just rested my forehead against the cold bars.

This was it. He was going to leave and I would never see him again. I was helpless…I had always been helpless. I wanted to say goodbye, but I just couldn't bring myself to.

"James," I said slowly, keeping a tight grip on his sleeve. "…By the time you get here, I'll be dead."

He stiffened instantly at my words, turning around to face me again and moving closer to the bars.

"Don't say that."

I shook my head. "You don't get it. I'm just stating a fact. Don't ask how I know…but I know. It's just what's supposed to happen."

"_Supposed_ to happen…? You think you're _supposed _to die?" he asked incredulously.

"I knew what was going to happen with Pyramid Head, too!" I said urgently, wishing there was some way for me to make him understand. "Why do you think I was so against going down to that hallway? James, I think I…I think I was just put here to die."

"Don't be ridiculous," James said quietly. I looked up at him, trying to read his expression.

The dim lighting in the room cast shadows over his eyes, creating that brooding look I'd grown so used to seeing on him. For a moment he seemed almost cold, but then the hanging light above us swung a little, causing the shadows to shift and allowing me to see the pained look in his eyes. What was going through his head?

He brushed my hand off of his sleeve, and I let it fall to my side. My forehead was still resting against the bars. Somewhere in my head, I was wishing I could melt right through them. James watched me for another moment, reached out to squeeze my shoulder, but then pulled away as if he'd been burned when he touched my bare skin.

"It's okay," I said in a flat voice. "I can't expect you to stay here forever."

"I'll find a way over there," he insisted. "I'll…I'll protect you."

"You can't protect me," I said, already starting to give up hope. I just couldn't see any way around this. "I can't even protect myself."

"Brittany…"

I glanced up at him. "Just…forget it, James. I'm not a selfless person. If you lend me a hand, I'll just try to drag you down with me."

"I'm not asking you to be selfless," he said, holding my gaze. "I'm asking you to _live_."

I couldn't even form a reply to that. I just stared at him in silence, feeling like a complete mess inside. Grief, anger, regret, fear, longing, despair…I couldn't understand what I was feeling anymore. Part of me _wanted_ it to end. How could this bastard ask me to do anything? No, that wasn't right…I didn't hate James. I hated myself, and I didn't know why…

After what felt like a very long time, he turned away from me again.

"I'll be over there as soon as I can," James said. "…Wait for me."

All I could do was watch him leave, growing more and more numb as the light of his flashlight faded. Soon enough, the sound of his footsteps was gone and I knew I was truly alone. Alone…until the very end.

* * *

I lost all sense of time after James left. Two hours or two minutes could have passed, and it wouldn't have made any difference at all to me. The room was deathly quiet aside from the sound of my own breathing and my heart pounding in my ears. I ended up moving the wooden chair over to the wall opposite the door, sitting down and pulling the handgun out.

As I sat there, I scanned the room for anything I could potentially use as a weapon. I could probably try using the chair…there was nothing on the bed that could help me, not even a blanket. The bed was bolted to the floor so I couldn't use it to block the door.

The metal of the gun felt like ice in my hands. I ejected the clip, staring at the two bullets that were left. There it was…death at my fingertips. Would I really have the courage to do it in the end?

For what felt like the longest time, I sat with the handgun aimed directly at the door. My eyes constantly wandered towards the bars, and I wondered if anything would be able to slip through them. Waiting like this was torture. I was so emotionally exhausted that I continually went from being tense and high-strung to not caring at all.

After a while I started hearing noises, only to question myself afterwards. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, but it just turned out to be the shadows moving from the swinging of the overhead light.

When the sound of a woman's scream jolted me to my feet, I knew I wasn't hearing things. The light above me shattered, and I was plunged into darkness. Suddenly the floor below me was sticky, there was a pounding noise coming from the direction of the door, and I was tripping over my own feet in a frantic attempt to find the flashlight. Eventually one of my hands closed around it; I lifted it up, finding the switch just in time to hear a loud smash.

The beam of light revealed peeling wallpaper, which was now beginning to get soaked by blood. The door was now just a gaping hole; splinters of wood covered the floor. A shadow moved just beyond the flashlight's beam. I focused on it, only to see a disfigured woman with dark hair crawling towards me. A nurse? No…

"James…"

_"Get away!"_ I screeched, pointing the gun at it, but it wasn't discouraged. "What do you want from me?"

I fired off a shot when it just came closer; the bullet connected with its head, blowing off half of its face and painting the wall behind it with gore. It continued to come closer. I backed away a step, only to collide with something warm and fleshy, causing me to let out a scream.

The monster in front of me let out a moan as corpselike arms wrapped around me from behind. I could feel warm breath on the back of my neck. I screamed again, seeing the same creatures pressing themselves up against the prison bars from the other side, unable to move as the one before me stumbled to its feet.

It was a hunching figure with blood-drenched, revealing clothing. It seemed to have difficulty standing; all of these monsters looked like they had been beaten half to death, and yet they still clambered forward, making their way towards me. The creature in front of me came closer and closer, and despite my thrashing and screams, the one behind me only tightened its hold. Suddenly the creature's face was inches from my own, the bullet wound gushing warm blood on to me. The metallic smell was overwhelming.

Other creatures were coming. The one in front of me inched even closer. In seconds, its face would be pressed to mine. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't escape. Nothing I did made any difference; they kept coming, they kept moaning, they kept whispering James' name into my ear…

I lifted the gun, struggling to press the muzzle to my temple. Just one last effort…just pull the trigger and it would all be—

_"Brittany!"_

I pulled the trigger.

There was an exploding noise in my ears, heat, and a bright flash of light. Then all I could feel was the bruising grip on my wrist, and the steady exhale of breath. That was the sound of someone panting…someone _living._

It took me a few seconds to register that it wasn't dark in here, and that I could see. I recognized that face. James…James…oh God, it was James.

What was going on? The light was back on. The gun in my hands was smoking. My gaze went slowly to the wall, and I saw the bullet hole there. James was holding my wrist. He had knocked the gun off course at the last minute.

"Ja…mes?"

He let out a sigh of relief, pulling the gun out of my hand; I let him. Then his eyes narrowed, and he shook his head at me. "What were you thinking?"

That made me remember; I instantly stiffened, looking around me. "Th-Those things! James, you have to—" I cut myself off when I noticed that the room was completely empty. There was no blood, no monsters…nothing. The door was still intact.

"…Brittany?" James said, leaning over to look me in the eyes. "There's…nothing here."

I choked on a sob, suddenly feeling dizzy. I stared at the gun James had taken from me, and then moved my gaze to the damaged wall. I looked around me once more, trembling.

"But…" I whispered, finding it difficult to breathe, "I…I saw…"

"Listen to me," he murmured, gripping me by the shoulders. "I'm here. You're safe now. Okay?"

I didn't hesitate after that, immediately launching myself forward and tackling James in a hug. And even though I honestly tried not to, it wasn't long before I broke down and started crying. His arms closed around me, and we stayed like that for a long time.

"…Oh, God," I wept, trying in vain to compose myself. "…I don't know what's happening to me…"

After a minute or two, James let out another sigh and suddenly pushed me away. I froze up, giving him a wounded look with tears still streaking down my face. He turned away, a guilty expression on his face.

"Sorry…" He offered, not meeting my gaze. I just watched him, feeling hurt and unable to comprehend his behavior.

It was difficult, but after a few seconds I managed to calm down on my own. I hurriedly wiped away my tears, suddenly embarrassed and self-conscious. What was I thinking? I had just met this guy and already I was clinging to him like a pathetic child.

The silence was abruptly thick and uncomfortable. I let out a shaky sigh, taking a seat on the bed before I collapsed.

"…Thank you for stopping me," I murmured.

He was quiet for a moment. Then he moved over, sitting down in the chair I had occupied and pressing a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache.

"What made you want to do that?" he asked, giving me a sidelong glance.

I stared ahead for a few seconds and then slowly shook my head. "I…saw things. Monsters. But they weren't _really_ there, were they…?"

The tears were coming back. I took a moment to suppress them, leaning forward and putting my face in my hands. "I feel like I'm going crazy," I mumbled.

"You aren't the only one," I heard James murmur back. I looked up to see him slumped over in much the same manner I was. It occurred to me that even though James was better at survival in this place, he probably felt just as helpless. It didn't really make a difference how strong you were…this town would find weaknesses you didn't know you had.

I bit my lip. "Let's make sure we stick together from now on. When I'm alone, I…I don't know if what I'm seeing is real."

"Yeah," James simply replied, and we fell silent again.

Which was worse? If I stayed with James, I would still have to face Pyramid Head. But staying alone had nearly caused me to kill myself for nothing…could those monsters have killed me? Had I been somehow dreaming? Were we _both_ dreaming?

"Hey," I said, looking up. "Are you hungry?"

"…Huh?" He gave me an uncomprehending look, and for the first time in a while I felt genuine amusement.

I dug through my bag, finding the sandwiches I had made early and holding one out to him. He stared at it as if he'd never seen a sandwich before in his life.

I smiled weakly. "Y'know, it'd be pretty pathetic if you fought off monsters all this time and then died of starvation."

James returned the smile, taking the food from me. "Thanks. Where did you get this?"

"I made a pit stop at Heaven's Night," I explained, pulling the saran wrap off my own sandwich. It felt like it had been days since I'd last eaten, though I was sure it couldn't have been that long…right? "There was some food there. I think it's still good; I had some back then too and I'm pretty sure it didn't kill me."

His lips twitched when he examined his sandwich. "Peanut butter and jelly?"

"Would you like me to cut it in half and take the crust off for you, princess?" I asked sarcastically, and then had to laugh at the deadpan look James gave me. "It's called a joke. Eat your damn sandwich."

That at least got him to snort, obeying my orders. Part of me wondered how he _didn't_ go absolutely batshit in this place with that amazing sense of humor he had. Still, I felt at least a little better. I felt more like a normal person when I was around James. Though admittedly, eating a PB&J sandwich with a murderer in a potentially nonexistent jail cell was probably far from normal.

I also took the time to pass one of my water bottles over to him, which he accepted gratefully. The fact that I'd been able to think ahead at least made me feel a little more useful. After a short while, though, James looked over at me again.

"We should get going soon," he remarked. I nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah…where are we?" I asked, though I already knew.

James frowned thoughtfully. "I…don't really know. I guess it doesn't really matter. We've got to find a way out of here."

I was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating this. I always got the labyrinth's events mixed up in my head, but I did know that we'd have to fight Eddie just before making it back outside. Or maybe we could slide past it…maybe we could escape without conflict, the way I had done the last time I'd seen him. I didn't want to come out of this place with human blood on my hands. I already felt guilty enough.

"By the way, I ran into Eddie," I said.

"Me too," James replied, but paused when he noticed the look on my face. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Listen, I think he's completely lost it," I told him. If I prepared him for it now, maybe he wouldn't come out with something stupid once we ran into the madman.

"He's been acting strange," he admitted, his brow furrowing. I shook my head.

"I'm serious, James. I walked into a room, there was a corpse on the ground, and Eddie was standing there with his goddamn gun still smoking." I clenched my fists, remembering the terror I'd felt at that moment. "He's unstable. I managed to get away, but I'm pretty sure all it would've taken was one wrong move and he would've killed me too."

James was silent for a minute or so. "…You think he's somewhere around this place?"

"He's just as caught up in this as we are, so I wouldn't be surprised," I replied. "If…If we run into him again, promise me you'll be careful with what you say."

"…Okay," James agreed. Then he glanced over at me. "But what makes you think I'd say something wrong?"

I just stared at him. "You're…not the most eloquent of people, James."

That just caused him to frown at me, and I laughed despite myself.

"Don't give me that look. I'm pretty awkward too." Then I sobered a little. "I'd just rather not get on Eddie's bad side. Our one advantage in this place is that most of these monsters can't outsmart us. A human being, on the other hand…"

"Yeah, I get it," James said, his gaze lowered to the floor. "Hopefully we won't have to worry about it."

"Hopefully," I agreed, knowing that wouldn't be the case. Would we even be able to leave if we didn't fight Eddie? Well…it was worth a try. He couldn't shoot us down when we were rowing a boat in the middle of Toluca Lake.

After we had sat in silence for another few minutes, James finally got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Ready?" He asked me. I nodded, and he held out a few weapons. "Shotgun or pipe?"

"I missed my pipe," I remarked in a dry tone. I was worried I'd waste ammo if I took the shotgun. James had the hunting rifle slung over one shoulder, but that was more of a last resort weapon.

Part of me wondered if I'd feel worse shooting someone or beating them to death. I would probably find that out soon.

"Let's get out of here," James said, and he couldn't have summed up my thoughts in a better way.

He moved to the door, opening it, and we plunged back out into the labyrinth…and still, the nightmare was far from over.

* * *

**A/N: I had a lot of fun writing the interactions with James here. :D So many underlying emotions. I know it's not as crazy as the original scene in the game, but I hope I at least intrigued you a little with the way the two interacted and responded to each other at this point in time.**

** Review and I'll let you out of the jail cell! -cackles and runs off-**

** Next time: Eddie shows his true colors, and things get serious. Oh wait, they already were.**


	12. Eddie Gone Nuts

**A/N: Holy crap! Is it an update? It is!**

**Yeah. I took a while again. Just went through a bit of a lifestyle change and had to get used to living in a new place and working full-time, so it's been hard to get into the writing mood. Anyway, here it is. I'm still super happy to have James back; character interaction makes life so much easier. XD**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, not mine!**

The floor of the labyrinth was covered in about six inches of brown, murky water. James and I were forced to slosh through it as we made our way down the passageway. It smelled dank in here, as if we were traveling through a flooded basement.

Trudging through the dirty water was a little nerve-wracking. I kept wondering if I was going to step on an aquatic version of that Creeper monster. The last thing I needed right now was an injured foot. My feet were already freezing; the water was surprisingly cold for some reason.

For the first minute or so, we traveled in silence. It was partly because we'd already said everything we needed to say for the moment, and partly because I was too busy holding my breath to make any remarks. After my experiences in that other labyrinth, I found myself dreading this one even more. We should be almost out, right? Right? There was supposed to be a gate that would open once James found Maria's body. Where the hell was it?

We came to an intersection. James chose to take a left, and I followed him. He paused for a second to pull out his own hand-drawn map, staring at it and frowning thoughtfully. Then he made an adjustment or two before pressing forward. I assumed he had more of an idea of where we were going than I did, so I just went along with it. I had never been able to memorize the labyrinth by heart; even now, something didn't feel right.

Another left turn, then a right, and then we proceeded straight through another intersection. All the while, James continually paused to edit his map. It was smart; getting lost down here probably just guaranteed death. We didn't encounter any monsters, which was a blessing. It was hard enough just keeping ourselves oriented. Still, though, I clutched the pipe with trembling hands.

James stopped once more, filling out the map. It was starting to come together; maybe an exit would be in sight soon. While I waited, I observed our surroundings in an attempt to stay alert.

…What was that? Down by that intersection we'd just gone through…something was coming around the corner. It was…

"James," I hissed, suddenly frantic. First the tip of the rusted metal helmet came, then the wicked looking spear, and then the bloody glove wrapped around it…

The blond glanced over at me, opening his mouth to reply, but then he saw what I did and promptly decided that we didn't have time to chat. He shoved the map into his pocket without bothering to fold it, and then gestured for me to follow him before taking off. I didn't waste any time in following.

The water made it impossible for us to make a quiet escape. Soon the corridors were filled with echoes of splashing water, and a quick glance over my shoulder told me that Pyramid Head had taken note of our presence. His lumber was a slow and deliberate one, suggesting that he wasn't giving chase, but I knew better than to drop my guard. Though he was following slowly, he was still_ following_—I had the sickening thought that no matter where we were in this maze, if we stopped in one place for too long, _he_ would find us. This was Pyramid Head's domain; he was the minotaur of this labyrinth.

We came to another intersection and briefly stopped as James attempted to think of where to turn. Behind us, I heard the slow, sloshing footsteps of our pursuer. Eventually I heard James swear to himself, before grabbing my arm and pulling me along another corridor.

There was a ladder at the end of the hall. James pushed me ahead of him, allowing me to go up first and then following closely behind. All I could hear was the sound of splashing water and the scrape of the monster's spearhead dragging against the wall.

I clambered up the ladder, hoisting myself up into a new area and rolling over on to a wooden floor. I lay on my back, waiting for my heart to stop pounding and for James to catch up. That was when I heard a low gurgling noise, and turned my head to see a Lying Figure crouching over me.

Without a second thought, I drew out the handgun, pressed the muzzle to the thing's face, and pulled the trigger. All I got in response was a resounding click; I let my arm fall when I remembered I was out of bullets.

Suddenly the barrel of a gun was thrust into the monster's stomach, and it screeched as it was thrown backwards. Then there was a flash, an exploding noise, and lots of blood.

I sat up as James clutched the smoking shotgun, letting out a breath. "Thanks."

He nodded, slinging it over one shoulder again. Then he swore loudly.

"What is it?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Look," he replied dully, nodding ahead of us.

Filled with dread, I looked. The hallway we had entered…was a dead end. I fell still for a moment before looking back over at James. We stared at each other, knowing what waited for us below.

"Well…shit," I whispered. "Should we wait here till he goes away?"

The blond frowned, glancing over towards the hole we'd come through. "…I don't think he can fit through there, but…"

"But what?" I asked.

James shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. I've seen that thing before in another part of this place…I don't know how it got from there to here so quickly."

"Since when does anything make sense?" I questioned hopelessly. "…I don't know what we should do."

"I picked up this rifle earlier. It's pretty powerful. Maybe it'll do the trick," James suggested quietly.

I gave him a deadpan look. "James, I emptied an entire clip on that thing and it didn't even so much as flinch."

He put a hand to his chin, his brow furrowing as he thought. "…Maybe not, then."

"Do you think he's still down there?" I chewed on my lower lip, nervous.

James shook his head. "My flashlight's not strong enough. I can't see to the bottom of the ladder."

So he needed a strong flashlight, then? I dug through my bag until my hand met the cool cylinder of my own flashlight. Then I pulled it out, handing it over to James. "Try this."

He raised his eyebrows. "Where'd you find that?"

"Uh…I met some guy. When I was running around town," I explained. "He gave it to me."

"…Some guy?" James asked, puzzled.

"His name was Vincent," I replied, wringing my wrists. "I'll introduce you if we ever make it out of this place." Yeah, right. I didn't want to seek out that guy again if I didn't have to.

"Can't wait," he said, and then leaned out over the hole, reaching out with one arm.

I waited in tense silence as I watched James shine the light down into the corridor below. There was nothing in this hallway save for the two of us and the corpse of the Lying Figure; I scooted closer to James to avoid the spreading pool of blood.

After a minute, James drew back and returned my flashlight to me. I turned it off and gave him a questioning look. He just shook his head.

"It looks empty."

"Should we…?" I paused, hesitating.

"We don't have much choice," he confirmed. He was right; it wasn't like we could proceed beyond the dead end up here.

"Okay," I said, gripping the pipe tightly. "Let's…Let's go, then."

James nodded and we began our slow descent back down the ladder. I went down second, shining the flashlight over my shoulder to ensure nothing would be waiting at James' back when he dropped to the ground.

He managed to make it safely down, and I hurriedly dropped down as well. Then we turned towards the dark passageway we had come from. It was empty for the moment. James pulled out the map he'd drawn, and he examined it carefully while I kept watch.

"Here," he murmured to me. I glanced over, and he pointed out a few potential paths we could take.

"If we head this way," James said, pointing to a left turn at the intersection up ahead, "I think it might lead us to the way out."

"But we don't know where Pyramid Head is now," I whispered.

"Yeah," he replied in a grim voice.

There was nothing more that could really be said after that. Whatever happened, we'd have to work around it. We couldn't control where Pyramid Head showed up. I closed my eyes for a second, praying that we wouldn't arrive at any more dead ends.

We pressed onward. As we trudged through the dirty water, it occurred to me that the labyrinth was far more expansive than it had been portrayed in the game. James had said we might find a way out, but he was only basing that thought off the knowledge that we were entering an unmapped area. For all we knew…this maze could go on forever. For god's sake, it didn't even exist, so why should any rules apply?

That thought almost gave me pause. It didn't exist…

I didn't know what the fuck was going on anymore. Was _this _real, or was that hallucination I'd had in the jail cell real? My senses perceived both to be reality, but for all I knew, none of this was happening. Maybe we would be stumbling around this place for eternity and we'd never find the answers we were looking for. Maybe we were all dead and this was what Hell was like.

But…what was I being punished for?

_Don't play dumb. You're just as guilty as the rest of us._

Had Vincent actually been right? Why would he lie, though?

I was falling behind; James had already passed straight through the intersection up ahead. He had stopped, looking back at me questioningly. Pushing away the troubling thoughts before they drove me insane, I picked up the pace to catch up to him.

I approached the intersection and spotted the hulking figure to my left just in time. Just as I came to a screeching halt, Pyramid Head thrust his long spear directly in front of him, barring me from James and nearly impaling me in the process. I let out a scream as I realized that my only option was to turn tail and run.

When I bolted back down the passageway, I was followed by the echoes of James' voice as he yelled my name over and over. He sounded panicked, and one glance over my shoulder told me why: Pyramid Head's slow lumber had transformed into the fast walk I'd seen once before that time below the hospital building. He was homed in, suddenly coordinated and giving chase.

I didn't waste any more time looking. Instead, I ran blindly on ahead, taking turns at random and trying frantically to throw off my pursuer. But every time I risked a glance behind me, he was still following, still _there_, and dangerously close behind.

The water of the labyrinth soaked my jeans up to the knees now. My wet clothes began to feel heavy, hindering my progress, and in my terror I found myself _believing_ that this was really Hell and cursing whatever god that had sent me here.

It was freezing in here. My legs ached so badly from running, and they were growing numb as the icy water sucked the warmth right out of them. If I tripped and fell, what would happen to me? Could I drown myself in this water before Pyramid Head got to me? Was death even possible anymore, or was I doomed to suffer the same cycle of pain and release over and over again?

I didn't want to find out. I didn't have the courage to find out.

The next turn took me down a winding passageway. I almost ran into a Lying Figure, and while under other circumstances this would startle me, a monster like this was minor in comparison to the crisis at hand. Lifting the pipe with my free hand, I shoved the monster backwards as hard as I could and then ran on ahead.

Less than two seconds after I resumed sprinting, I heard the wet _rrrrip_ of tearing flesh. I looked over my shoulder just before turning a corner, and narrowly dodged a hunk of gore that had been tossed at me. I wanted to throw up.

Then, as I was running down the next passageway, the worst happened.

When the pain first came, I was afraid to look down at the source of it. It was an agony so great that I was worried I would see the head of a certain spear protruding from my middle. When I looked down and confirmed that I wasn't injured in any way, I realized that the pain from before had come back...and though I hadn't been impaled _yet_, the moment was probably close at hand. I couldn't run like this.

The world spun as the pain peaked, and my run slowed to a stumble. It wasn't long before I fell to my knees, feeling the sensation spread until I let out a scream. Everything hurt. I couldn't move. I—

Suddenly the world spun again, only it wasn't because of my condition this time. I was being lifted up and draped over something—a shoulder? He was carrying me. The thought that I was making this much physical contact with the monster that had terrorized me all this time nearly _did_ cause me to vomit, but at this point I didn't feel like I could spare the energy for even that.

"Let me _go!" _I screeched, instead putting my energy into struggling and doing my best to hinder Pyramid Head. My efforts didn't amount to much, because the pain was still tearing through my system and the tears in my eyes were causing the world around me to blur. My breaths were short and wheezing, and each exhale sounded more like a sob than the one before.

"Brittany! Stop!" A familiar voice said my name, and the arms that were holding me in place tightened. My eyes widened with shock, and through the haze of pain I noted the green coat that my captor was wearing.

My body fell slack. It was James…James was carrying me. Had he rescued me? What was going on…?

The pain just continued to grow, and I found myself giving up. With my adrenaline reserves completely spent, I allowed my eyes to slip closed, placing full trust in James to keep me safe.

And if he failed, well…maybe fate would be merciful enough to let me die while I was still unconscious.

* * *

_'…That's why I want you to live for yourself now. Do what's best for you, James._

_James…_

_You made me happy.'_

_The controller dropped to the floor as the game ended and I let out a breath, amazed that I'd finally managed to brave everything it had thrown at me. I turned off the TV and let what had happened sink in, unsure of what to think of James after a certain unexpected turn of events._

_…Man, what a game. For it to get to me this much…_

_After the second game, I found myself immersed in the first one. Then came Silent Hill 3, Shattered Memories, Silent Hill 4…hell, I even had the cell phone game. Some of my best memories were of days I'd spent playing Silent Hill with friends, trekking through the town as a team and taking turns overcoming its horrors._

_Was it possible to love something and be terrified of it at the same time? Apparently so._

_I looked up, and knew that my dream's scenery had changed in the blink of an eye—and yes, I realized it was a dream. I'd been reliving my experiences with Silent Hill, and the scenes were like snapshots in my mind…quick, but full of memories. What was I searching for?_

_Uncertain, I moved my gaze from the darkness around me down to my hands. They were warm, dripping with blood._

_Blood? Whose blood? Had I…?_

_There was a cloth sticking out of my pocket. Shaking, I hurriedly pulled it out and wiped the blood away, and tossed the dirty article out of my sight. But when I looked at my hands, they were bloody again._

_Pyramid Head was standing before me. He was clutching the cloth I had thrown, and it was clean._

_Wracked with shivers now, I wiped my hands on my jeans, but the blood wouldn't come off. My terror grew. I felt sick._

_Lost and helpless, I allowed my gaze to travel back up to the monster in front of me. He dropped the cloth and reached up to press a hand to his helmet. Slowly, the helmet swayed to the left, to the right, and back again._

_No? What do you mean, no? I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out._

_Unable to move, I watched as Pyramid Head drew back his arm. His muscles bunched, and then the arm lunged forward, carrying his spear towards me. There was that all-too-familiar sound of tearing flesh, and then the spearhead had pierced out through the flesh on my back, and I was hunched over and gripping the shaft in a feeble attempt to pull it out. A fierce shudder ran through my body, and I leaned forward to vomit blood._

_The blood that dripped from my mouth was black. I barely had enough time to register this fact before a gloved hand gripped my chin with a bruising force, turning my head upwards._

_That was when I began to choke, drowning in the very liquid that sustained me._

* * *

Suddenly I was able to breathe, and instantly took in a lifesaving gasp of air. The air was musty and cold, but it was air nonetheless. My lungs were clear; the blood that had been killing me moments before was gone now.

"You're all right." I heard a quiet voice come from beside me, and looked over to see James kneeling there. I was lying on a wooden floor, soaking wet and shivering.

"What…?" I trailed off as it all came back to me—the chase, the sudden pain, James carrying me, passing out.

Straining hard, I managed to sit up somehow. He laid a hand between my shoulder blades, helping me. Though I felt lightheaded for a moment, I finally managed to gather my bearings.

"I managed to find a way around to where you were," James explained in a low murmur, as though speaking too loudly would break me. "You had collapsed, so I picked you up and ran. You've been unconscious up until now."

"Oh…" I pressed a hand to my forehead, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. "What about…well…you know?"

He shook his head, turning to point to a nearby hole in the floor. "He's down there somewhere, I guess."

Now I stared down at my stomach, where I had been stabbed moments ago in my dream. That blood on my hands…for some reason, thinking about it made me feel panicked.

"Then where are we?" I asked to get my mind off of the dream.

"I'm not sure," James admitted. "I've lost track. But I don't think this is another dead end." He suddenly met my gaze. "Are you okay?"

My eyebrows flew up. "What? Yeah, I think. Cold and wet, but mostly okay."

"I heard you scream," he remarked solemnly. "I thought he'd gotten you. For a minute, I thought I was too late." James shook his head. "You aren't hurt anywhere, but you still looked like you were in a lot of pain. What happened?"

I looked down, biting my lip. Well, fuck. I didn't want to be a burden, but it looked like I couldn't hide my issues from James now. God, why couldn't I ever _help?_ All I ever did was cause him more trouble.

"Well…" I sighed, hugging myself lightly. "Do you remember that time in the hospital, when I suddenly started feeling like crap? And you had to leave me behind in one of the rooms? It's that."

James' brow drew together, and he looked at me with barely disguised worry. "Brittany, are you…sick?" He said the word with a great measure of reluctance, as if uttering it might make it a reality. His eyes grew misty and he lowered his gaze.

"N-No," I said hurriedly. "Not like that! I mean…there was nothing wrong with me _before_ I came to this place. No weird illnesses or anything."

He glanced back up at me. "Are you saying you…somehow contracted something here?"

I shrugged, chewing on my lower lip. "I dunno. But every so often, I get pangs of this unbearable pain. It's like I'm being stabbed in the stomach over and over. It gets worse every time it happens. I don't…" I hesitated, struggling to keep my voice from wavering. "I don't know what's happening to me."

James stared at me for a long time after that. I just gazed down at the dirty wooden floor, resisting the sudden urge to cry as it truly began to dawn on me that something was very, very wrong. When I was fighting for my life, I had some degree of control over whether I lived or died. But I had no control at all over…_this._ What if this was what killed me in the end?

"When was the last time it happened?" he finally asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"In that…other labyrinth," I murmured, distracted. Then I shook my head. "No, no, that was the time before…last time it was in the jail cell before you came."

"…Other labyrinth?" James frowned at me.

I remembered myself, and rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah. There was…this weird place. After I jumped down the first hole. It was really…" I just shook my head, trying to find words for it. The claustrophobic hallway, the bloody walls…it was a frightening mess in my mind. "Those monsters were there," I said abruptly. "The ones that attacked me in the prison cell."

His frown only grew, and I realized I'd said the wrong thing. "Those monsters…Brittany, they weren't real. Remember?" He paused, looking thoughtful. "You might've been in the prison cell the whole time."

"No," I said firmly. "No, I saw Eddie in the prison. I couldn't have been…"

The doubtful look he gave me caused me to stop and question myself. _Had_ I seen Eddie? I had, right? But I had been so certain I'd seen those monsters in the prison cell too, but they hadn't really been there…

Suddenly I had a thought, and began digging through my bag. That was right, I had seen that weird replica of my own room in that maze. If it had been fake, then what I had picked up in that room wouldn't be in my bag.

My hand found the glass vial, and I pulled it out, breathing a sigh of relief. It had been real. I wasn't going crazy.

But strangely enough, the fact that it _had_ been real only brought up more questions than answers…

"Look," I said, holding it out to him. "I picked this up in that place." I explained about the room I had found, how it had been an exact replica of my own room at home. Then I dropped the ampoule into his hands.

James turned it over, his eyes running over the label on the glass. He didn't attempt to read the Latin phrase aloud, instead choosing to look back up at me.

"What does it mean?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know. It's the extract of something. If we had a computer, we could probably Google it, but…" I just trailed off, knowing the impossibility of such a thing. I couldn't even remember seeing a computer once in this town.

After a few seconds, James handed the ampoule back over to me. "Hang on to it. It could be important." He glanced on down the hallway. "Either way, we should get going. We've got to get you out of those clothes."

"I'm f-freezing and I smell like a flooded cellar," I griped, more to myself than to James.

In response, the blond helped me to my feet and started taking off his coat. Before I could ask James why he was stripping down, he had draped it around my shoulders. It was torn in places and dirty from our escapades around town, but delightfully warm nonetheless. I had always wanted a coat like the one James wore…not that my feelings were the same anymore. It looked better on him anyway.

"Thanks," I said quietly, pushing my arms through the sleeves. My shivers died down a little. "Are you sure you won't need it?"

"I'll be okay," he replied dismissively.

He started down the hallway and I followed him, our footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. Our shoes leaked water, making squelching noises with every step.

"Any idea where we're going?" I asked after a few minutes of walking.

"Through that door," James replied as we turned a corner and saw a simple wooden door at the end of the hall. Well, at least we were getting somewhere.

The door, thankfully, wasn't jammed or locked. James pulled it open easily enough and we stepped out on to…grass? I looked up, seeing nothing but darkness above us. The air felt cleaner out here, though. It seemed impossible, but we were somehow outdoors now.

"How…?" James voiced my thoughts, shining the flashlight around us and looking confused.

Several shapes stood out against the flashlight's beam. Tombstones. James and I exchanged a look, and then walked around the stones, pausing to examine some. Most of the inscriptions were too worn to read, but I did find one that was rather interesting.

"Walter Sullivan," I murmured, shining my own flashlight over the simple engraving. "Here's hoping I never have to meet you, buddy."

"Hm? What is it?" James turned from the headstone he was examining, giving me a questioning look.

I shook my head and turned away. "Ah, it's nothing. See anything interesting?"

"Over there," he said, pointing.

In the corner of the cemetery were several open graves. My lips pressed together into a thin line. I had known this part was coming, but I wasn't feeling any more courageous than usual. Those graves…

We walked over to the graves, pausing at the far end of them. One of the holes was twice as wide as the others, and it appeared to be a bottomless pit.

"What is this…?" James muttered. His eyes were narrowed slightly.

In response, I shined my flashlight over to the grave on the far right.

"Angela Orosco," the blond read.

I moved the flashlight over to the next stone. "Eddie Dombrowski."

"What the hell does it mean?" James wondered, shaking his head.

After a second, I began moving the flashlight over—and stopped. I noticed for the first time that there were two headstones left, not just one. Dread flooded my system in an instant.

"Brittany?" James' voice came. "What's wrong?"

"I think I know where this is going," I whispered. Shaking, I lit up the next tombstone and saw my own name engraved on it.

He let out a breath, immediately growing still. Then he reached out, placing his hand over mine and moving the flashlight for me. The next gravestone was his own.

"This is…" James trailed off and shook his head.

I couldn't look at my headstone anymore; instead, I turned my attention to the grave in front of me. It wasn't just James'—it was mine, too. Our graves were combined to form a single gaping hole in the ground. And this was it…there was nowhere else for us to go. If we turned back, Pyramid Head would be awaiting us in the labyrinth.

"It's…another hole," the blond finally said, coming to the same conclusion as me. "We'll have to jump."

I hesitated, knowing what was necessary but still not wanting to accept it. "Uh, James…maybe it's just me, but…doesn't jumping into your own grave seem, I don't know, _pretty fucking insane?"_

He turned to stare at me, and for the millionth time, James managed to look like the sane one. Granted, we both were forced to do a lot of crazy things in this town, but he did it so calm and rationally that I looked like a complete basket case compared to him. But then again, the very fact that he _was_ calm and rational in this situation suggested that he wasn't of a normal state of mind.

I watched James for a moment. His eyes were hard. He had a motivation other than survival here—he was doing this for his wife, the person he loved more than anything. And I had a feeling that somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had ended her life. What was really driving him? Love…or guilt?

I just wanted to get through this alive. That was all. I wanted to go home, back to a world that I understood. I didn't want to feel my sanity slipping away bit by bit like sand between my fingers.

"I know it's crazy," James finally admitted. "But what other option do we have?"

I bit my lip, knowing he was right. "…I'm really scared."

"It's going to be okay." That was his mantra; I knew he didn't believe it, and he knew_ I _didn't believe it, but it was all that could be said at a time like this.

"James, could you…" I faltered, shaking a little as he gave me a puzzled look. After a second or two, I reached out and grabbed his hand.

He jolted a little, shocked at the sudden action. I knew I'd probably made him horribly uncomfortable, but I _needed_ this. I was terrified. How could I jump into my own grave? What if I woke up and I was alone again?

"Just…don't let go," I said quietly, unable to meet his gaze.

James was quiet for a very long time after that. I tried to suppress my shaking, knowing that now he would be able to feel it directly. My heart was already pounding in my ears.

"I won't," he said, startling me.

Then he stepped forward, pulling me with him into the open grave.

* * *

Freezing. It was freezing.

That was my first thought as my eyes cracked open; I was shivering fiercely now, and my stiff muscles ached terribly. Somehow I was still clutching the rusty pipe with one hand. It felt like ice.

"J-Jam…mmngh…"

There was movement in response to my pathetic attempt to call out. I blinked, and noted that my other hand was loosely grasping something. Relief flooded through me when I realized that it was another hand, a hand as freezing cold as mine.

I watched, lying limp as James shifted and got to his knees. He let go of me so that he could rub his hands together in an attempt to warm them. I realized with a detached sort of fascination that I could see my breath.

"Brittany?" James' voice came. "Are you all right?"

"Fr-Freezing," I replied, trying not to let my teeth chatter. Then I strained to push myself to my knees; when James saw the effort I was making, he took hold of my shoulders and helped me up. Then he tugged on his coat, pulling it more closely around my shoulders.

I nodded weakly, smiling. "Thanks."

Sometimes I wondered why he made such an effort. Maybe he just felt guilty for that time in the hospital. It was comforting to have him with me like this. But it seemed like the more he took care of me, the less able I was to take care of myself…

I winced, angry at myself, and shrugged off James' hands. I had to stand on my own two feet. No matter how much my body ached, no matter how freezing cold I was, no matter how terrifying a situation I was in…if I didn't have the strength to stand without leaning on someone, I'd never get out of here.

After stretching for a second and attempting to regain my bearings, I turned to James. "I…I think I'm ready now." Though the cold of the pipe felt like needles biting into my hands, I continued to clutch it.

James nodded, turning so the flashlight shined down the hallway we were in. A long staircase was revealed. Exchanging a single look, we began our descent.

It could've just been my imagination, but it felt like it got colder as we went down. I found myself growing jittery; I just wanted to get this over with so we could go back outside where it was a normal temperature.

…Get _what_ over with? What exactly were we going to face?

I wasn't ready for this…

The staircase ended and we began a new trek down a very long hallway. Tendrils of cool mist curled around our feet. We were silent as we braced ourselves for whatever was going to come.

Suddenly the hallway began to turn red, and I looked around nervously as I realized we were reaching the end. We came to a single door; above it was a red light. James paused, frowning, and then stepped forward to push it open.

Well, here goes nothing…

I walked into the new room, holding on to the pipe like it was a lifeline. James followed closely behind. The door shut behind us with an ominous click, and instantly the metallic smell of blood hit us in a nauseating wave.

The game didn't do it justice. This room was a slaughterhouse.

There were five bodies scattered around the room, steam still rising from them. Blood painted the floor and walls, and each corpse was accompanied with its own gore that resulted from a shot to the head.

And at the center of it all stood Eddie, staring blankly at one of the bodies and holding a smoking gun. Next to me, James froze. I was trembling more fiercely now, though it was no longer because we were in a freezer.

"Eddie…" James shook his head, staring at the carnage with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Eddie asked, as I'd known he would. "He always busted my balls! 'You fat, disgusting piece of shit! You make me sick!'" He waved his gun at one corpse, and then turned to another. "'Fatass, yer nothin' but a waste of skin! You're so ugly, even your mama don't love you!'"

I flinched a little at the way he was waving that gun around. This had the potential to get very ugly, very fast. Fuck, who was I kidding? There were corpses everywhere. It was _already_ ugly.

"Well, maybe he was right. Maybe I am a fat, disgusting piece of shit," the man said quietly. "But ya know what? It doesn't matter if you're smart, dumb, ugly, pretty…it's all the same once yer dead! And a corpse can't laugh." He gave us a maniacal grin, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. He had the eyes of a madman.

"From now on, if anyone makes fun of me…I'll kill 'em. Just like that!" He put the gun to his head and mimicked shooting to further illustrate his point.

James just stared on, shocked. It _was_ unsettling—to see the harmless looking, pizza-eating man from the bowling alley transform into this. Once again, I was surprised by the fact that a mere human being could frighten me as much as the creatures in this place.

When I looked around at the corpses scattered throughout the room, I knew with firm conviction that we'd brought this hell upon ourselves. This evil hadn't been caused by the monsters of the town; it had been caused by_ this _monster, the man standing right in front of us. Mankind harbored its own darkness. Silent Hill just amplified it.

"Eddie," James said, stepping forward. "Have you—"

I reached up and squeezed his shoulder hard before he could finish his sentence. There was no way in _hell_ I was going to let him ask a man holding a gun if he had gone nuts.

"What?" Eddie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Got somethin' to say, James?"

"No, I…"

I was reluctant to say anything, but there had to be some way to remedy this situation, to leave Eddie behind while we went on ahead. I couldn't just leave it to James. He had screwed up last time, so how could I trust him not to screw up this time around?

What was the right way to go about this? There was no time to think.

"Do you have any idea where the exit to this place is, Eddie?" I asked, changing the subject entirely. I didn't want to venture into dangerous territory when I wasn't sure how to proceed.

Now Eddie stared me down. He lowered the gun slightly, to my relief, but he wasn't exactly putting it down either. "No clue. Why? You're in a hurry to leave, huh?"

"Well, James is looking for his wife," I explained as gently as I could, feeling my heart race. "She could be anywhere, you know, so we've got to—"

"Don't fuck with me!" Eddie yelled suddenly, cutting me off. I balked, feeling like I'd been punched in the stomach. He stepped forward and waved the gun angrily. "I know how it is. I know your type."

"My type?" The incredulous words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Always laughing…all the stupid girls ever did was laugh!" He resumed his tirade as if he hadn't heard me. "Never even said a word to me! Just whispered to each other and laughed. But I knew they were makin' fun of me! Just like you!"

I shook my head, holding up my hands defensively. "I never said anything. I don't have anything against you, Eddie, okay?"

"Oh, shut up!" he growled. "I can see it in your eyes! You're just like the rest of 'em!"

James tensed up, watching the other man warily. "Put the gun down, Eddie."

"Why?" Eddie turned on James. "You gonna be mad if I shoot your girlfriend?"

"It's dangerous. Just put it down," James said more insistently this time, not bothering to correct Eddie's assertion. It didn't matter.

I did my best not to edge behind James, but it was getting very difficult to be brave. I hadn't even _done_ anything, and I was already being targeted—my only fault was being a teenage girl. Having a person look at me like that, with that animalistic urge to kill, brought forth an entirely new kind of fear. Those eyes were terrifying.

"Yer damn right it's dangerous," the other man replied, flashing that unstable smile again. He lifted the gun again, putting one finger on the trigger.

James immediately stepped forward. "Eddie, stop! Are you crazy?"

Eddie froze. "…I knew it. You too…you've been laughin' at me all along, haven't you? Ever since we first met!"

"Eddie—"

"I'll kill you, James! I'll kill both of you!" The man snapped, held up the gun, and fired off a shot.

I gasped loudly, dodging to the side, while James did the same. The bullet buried itself into the wall between us. James immediately lunged forward in an attempt to disarm the other man, but Eddie was already ducking through another door…the door that led to the meat locker.

Behind us was a dead end, and through that door was an armed man who had gone completely batshit. What the hell were we supposed to do? Stay here with the corpses?

James turned to me. "Stay here. I'll go try bringing him to his senses."

As much as I wanted to leave it to him, I couldn't. It wasn't that simple.

"And if you get yourself killed in there? What do I do then?" I asked, clenching my fists. "Don't be stupid, James. I don't want to, but…but I'm going in there with you."

"I don't want to put you in danger," James said. "Besides, what if that…pain acts up again?"

"Anything could happen at any time," I said shakily. "You know what happened the last time I was alone. There isn't any safe scenario, so…so…God, just stop it before I chicken out!"

"…Let's go," he eventually murmured with great reluctance.

We walked forward. He paused when he placed his hand on the door Eddie had left through.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

"If I die, don't you dare leave my body in this hellhole," I countered.

"Don't say that."

"You're right. I'm sorry." I bit my lip. "I'll promise if you will."

"All right. I promise," he murmured, closing his eyes briefly.

"I promise too. I'm sorry Eddie thinks I'm your girlfriend."

"You're stalling. Are you sure—?"

"Let's go."

I pushed the door open.

* * *

**A/N: I had originally been planning to finish the Eddie fight, but the labyrinth portion of this chapter dragged on longer than I'd originally planned. :P Oh well! I'm still happy with it. **

**Now to start on the other fic I'm overdue to update. XD **

**You know the drill! Review, review, review! Let me know what goes on in the minds of my beloved readers. ;D hahaha.**

**Next time: So a fat guy, a widower and a teenage girl walk into a meat locker... **


	13. Survival

**A/N: I know...I'm mean and I took a while. I could come up with a million excuses, but it all boils down to writer's block and not always having time to write. Bleh. Anyway, here's the chapter. I wrote a good chunk of it today. I hope you guys enjoy it, because it's four in the morning right now and my eyes will start bleeding if I have to stare at a Word document for one more second. XD**

**Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: Uh...don't own...can I go to bed now?**

Like everything else in this damn place, the inside of the meat locker was _cold_. Even if I survived what was about to happen, I still felt there was a possibility of me dying of hypothermia. I was worried about James now, too; since he'd given me his coat, all he wore now was a short-sleeved polo. That wasn't going to protect him much from the elements.

Everything about this room was giving me a bad feeling. Large hunks of raw meat hung from hooks on the ceiling, obscuring my view of the surrounding area. Despite the frigid temperature of the room, it still smelled like blood in here. The smell wasn't overwhelming, but it was just faint enough to be distracting. A mist almost as thick as the fog outside filled the room.

My arms were trembling, but I continued to hold the pipe in an iron grip. It was almost unbearably cold. I could only hope that my hands wouldn't go numb.

James stood beside me as the door closed behind us. He was gripping the shotgun uncertainly, as if he'd suddenly forgotten how to use it. It occurred to me that he still thought this situation could be resolved peacefully; even after all we'd been through, he still couldn't stomach the thought of using the weapon on a human being. It was ironic, considering the reason why he was here in the first place.

It was also what would probably get us killed. I didn't want to hurt Eddie, either. I already felt like I was unleashing some kind of monster when I fought the demons in this town; I didn't want to see what happened when I turned those survival instincts on another person. It was unthinkable.

But Eddie had a gun. And unlike us, Eddie wouldn't hesitate.

"Do you know what it does to you?" His voice echoed through the room, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Being laughed at all your friggin' life? Hated, picked on, spit on…just 'cause of the way you look."

James and I were looking around in an attempt to find Eddie's hiding place, but to no avail. There was one thing I could tell, though; he was moving as he spoke. His voice kept coming from somewhere else in the room every time I heard it, so it was impossible to find the source. And the visibility in this room was terrible. There were too many obstacles.

"Eddie…" James hesitated as we heard the sound of quiet footsteps coming from somewhere nearby.

"You don't have to do this!" I called, inching to the side a bit. If I spoke, I had to keep moving or he'd pinpoint my location. "We're not looking for a fight."

James seemed to catch on, moving with me to ensure that we weren't found. The two of us looked around cautiously as we moved, not wanting to bump into anything…or anyone.

"Oh yeah?" Eddie challenged. "I bet you'd shoot me in the back! You're just like everyone else. How long have you and James been laughin' at me, huh?"

"We're trapped in a town full of monsters! Eddie, we're all people here! We just want to survive!" I protested, failing in my attempt to keep the desperation out of my voice. "We're not laughing. We never were…"

"Let's just talk, okay?" James spoke up, sounding calmer than he looked. "Put the gun down. We can…"

Suddenly James trailed off and I froze, wondering if he'd caught sight of Eddie. But it wasn't Eddie he was looking at; it was yet another corpse, lying at our feet. This was where that smell was coming from. The floor was still wet with blood, so it was definitely a fresh kill; who had these people been, and where were they coming from? Why didn't James and I ever run into any of them?

There was no time to think. James had pressed a hand over his mouth, slowly sliding it down until it fell to his side again. It was easy to see that the amount of death around here was wearing on him, and he was a lot less composed than he'd been before we'd come down here.

"Eddie…" James murmured. "Did you really kill all of these innocent people?"

"Who said they were innocent?" The madman shot back. "They deserved what they got! Just like that stupid dog!"

We heard a bang from behind us, and we swung around at once. There was nothing there…nothing except for the hanging carcasses, some of which were swinging slightly, mockingly. I scanned the area again and still couldn't see anything.

"Yeah, I killed the dog. It was fun," Eddie said. His tone of voice made me shiver; he sounded more like a ten-year-old than a fully grown adult. "It tried to chew its own guts out! Finally died all curled up in a ball."

James and I exchanged a look at this, and kept moving. We stepped over the corpse, taking care not to slip in the puddle of blood. Moving along the wall, we made sure to use each piece of hanging meat as a sort of barrier between us and the rest of the room. These things could take a bullet, right? I was pretty sure all Eddie had was a pistol and his fists.

"Then_ he _came after me. I shot him too; right in the leg. He cried more than the dog!" Eddie continued, laughing. "He's gonna have a hard time playing football on what's left of that knee!"

I was shaking. How could he _laugh_ about this? Was he actually enjoying himself? Did he even understand the gravity of taking a human life, or was this all some kind of sick game to him?

"Yeah, there are bad people in the world…" I spoke up, my voice wavering. "There are people who will say horrible things or make fun of you. But you can't just shoot every person that so much as looks at you the wrong way! That's fucked up!"

"Why not?" Eddie retorted. "The world's a better place without 'em!"

"But if you kill them, then you're no different!" James called forcefully.

Then there was silence, which alarmed me more than anything else. Suddenly all of the sounds in the room seemed amplified. I did my best to quiet my breathing, but the sound of my heart pounding in my ears seemed impossibly loud. Where was he? I couldn't hear footsteps, but…

"Maybe," Eddie finally agreed in a soft voice, surprising me. "But this town called all of us. You're the same as me. We're not like other people."

"We're not the same," I insisted, not liking where this was going. "Stop it! Don't do this, Eddie!"

"I bet they would've begged, too," he remarked. "Those stupid girls. I always wanted to make _them_ scream."

"Eddie—"

And suddenly he was in front of us, causing James' words to die in his throat.

"Let's party!" he yelled with a terrifying grin, lifting the gun and firing before either of us had a chance to think.

James dodged to the right while I dove to the left; the bullet buried itself into the wall between us. My heartbeat escalated and I took in a breath, forcing myself to let it out slowly as I ducked behind one of the meat slabs. I couldn't allow myself to scream. Breathe quietly, breathe quietly…

Eddie was pointing his pistol at James, but in the next instant, James had moved out of sight. Oddly enough, it looked almost as if Eddie was hesitant to shoot. No…it wasn't that. It had to be because he wasn't a good shot. I highly doubted he had much experience with guns other than the few times he had used them. None of us had great aim other than at point-blank range. That meant a moving target would be difficult for Eddie to hit. And with the poor visibility in this room, along with a two-to-one disadvantage…the odds were in our favor.

But despite that, we were far from invincible. Eddie wasn't shooting left and right because he had a limited amount of bullets. That meant he wouldn't shoot unless he thought he had a good chance of hitting us. We couldn't just wait for him to spend his ammunition…we had to do something to stop him.

…But what _could_ we do? Would we really have to kill him to end this?

Eddie turned around, his gaze instantly locking with mine. I froze like a deer caught in headlights. His lips curled in a sneer, and he raised the gun.

I took in a choked gasp, diving to one side as I heard the gun go off. There was a horrible, low whistle as something passed just over my head, lodging itself in one of the meat pieces with a loud _thuk_.

Then I was on my knees, crawling as fast as I possibly could, as the air was filled with the sound of gunshots. One bullet whistled past my ear. Another hit the floor about a foot to my right. The third was the one that I actually felt.

The side of my right calf was suddenly filled with a burning, stinging sensation, nearly causing my knees to go weak. The pain spiked up the length of my leg. I realized I'd been shot, and I couldn't help but let out a horrified scream.

Suddenly a fresh course of adrenaline hit me, and I forced myself back up on to my feet. It was freezing in here and I was so _tired_, but I'd been shot and I had to keep moving. Where the hell was James? Fuck, it _stung…_

There was no sound of pursuit coming from behind me. I chanced a glance back as I crept over to the other end of the room, and saw nothing. Eddie had vanished back into the mist; that could be a good or bad thing. At least that meant I was hidden again.

It was hard not to hyperventilate in this situation. I was amazed that I could still put weight on the leg that had been shot; when I finally looked down at it, though, I realized with relief that the bullet had only grazed me. Well, 'graze' might be too light a term for the wound; it was no scratch. It was a pretty deep cut, it was bleeding everywhere, and it'd probably need stitches after all of this was over.

_If_ this nightmare ever ended…

I crept along the wall, shaking with anticipation and fear. It was deathly quiet in here again. If James was nearby, he was being just as careful as I was. The palms of my hands were finally starting to grow numb; it felt like the pipe was welded to my flesh.

Footsteps.

They were quiet, so quiet, but I could hear them all the same. Could it be James? I didn't dare to hope. I tried to quiet my breathing as much as I could, but it was hard when my leg was throbbing like crazy.

My leg…

My leg was bleeding. The blood would leave a trail.

This realization caused my mouth to fall open in a horrified gape. I looked behind me, saw nothing, and then abruptly began to run.

The sound of footsteps pursuing confirmed my suspicions that I was being followed, and I tried to pick up the pace. It was almost impossible to move fast and avoid hitting the hanging meat. White-hot pain jolted up my leg as I ran, and I knew I was probably only making the wound worse. But it was either that or risk being shot again.

My foot hit something on the floor and I tripped, falling to my knees and scraping them badly. The floor was slick with something. I swore under my breath, realizing with shock that I'd actually tripped over the corpse we'd encountered earlier. Unless this was a different one…just how many people had Eddie killed?

More footsteps behind me. I forced myself to my feet again, stumbling forward and nearly running face first into a wall. The pipe hit it with a loud clang, surely giving away my location. I realized with a sick feeling in my stomach that I had backed myself right into a corner.

When I turned around, Eddie was already standing there with his pistol ready. He was clearly enjoying this, seeing the look of dread coming over my face, seeing how I nearly slid to the floor again with despair.

"Well? Aren't you gonna beg?" he asked in a low voice, waving the gun a little and smiling. "Go on, you stupid coward. You're in this town, same as me. I bet you had this coming."

It was too late. He was going to kill me no matter what I did, so why bother? There was nothing I could say to him anymore. He looked at me and saw every girl that had ever shunned him. He wasn't going to listen to reason.

"Go to hell," I spat, but my tone was nowhere near as venomous as my words. I was terrified.

He just laughed, shaking his head. "Don't you get it? We're already in hell!" And he raised the gun again.

"Eddie!"

The sudden yell caught the madman off guard. Eddie swung around to look behind him, holding his pistol ready, when suddenly there was an explosion and a flash of light. Then everything fell silent again…save for the minute sound of blood dripping to the floor.

James was standing there, his eyes wide as he held the shotgun in shaking hands. It was smoking. The ground was stained with small droplets of blood, and a puddle was beginning to form beneath Eddie's feet.

The thought kept going through my mind over and over—that James had shot Eddie—but it just wouldn't register. I watched the scene, opening and closing my mouth but unable to form words. Eddie was still standing there. I could hear his labored breathing, which was far too quiet and weak.

The pistol was still raised. The hand holding it was severely cut up and trembling nearly too fiercely to aim properly, but Eddie's finger was on the trigger. His finger was on the trigger and he was starting to squeeze and it was pointed right at James and he _wasn't moving—_

I lunged forward without thinking and desperately swung the pipe as hard as I could. It connected solidly with Eddie's back just as the pistol let out a loud report.

James seemed to snap out of it as soon as he saw me move, but despite his efforts to get out of the way, I still heard him grunt with pain as the bullet grazed his side. He fell to the floor, clutching the wound.

Eddie went down on his knees, taking in wet sounding gasps and crawling in James' direction. James frantically attempted to reload the shotgun as I ran forward, trying to grip the pipe with hands that had gone completely numb.

And then, just as Eddie began to reach for James' throat, James thrust the barrel of the shotgun into his stomach and fired. The report was muffled, the resulting sound eerily similar to when I'd heard a bullet hit one of the meat slabs earlier.

After that…it was silent once more. James pushed Eddie off of himself, and the man fell limply on to his back, into a spreading pool of his own blood.

I pressed a hand over my mouth. Eddie's entire front was bloody, torn up by multiple close-range doses of buckshot. Blood trickled out of his slightly open mouth. After watching him for a few seconds, I noted that his chest wasn't moving up and down at all—he wasn't breathing. He was…he was…

"He's dead," I whispered. "Oh my god…"

Dead. Even after everything I'd seen, even after fighting all of those monsters and running blind through Otherworld streets, seeing this still felt like a punch to the stomach. I could barely breathe. A person…this was a real _person_. As if the corpses we'd seen weren't bad enough; I knew his name, I knew his face, I had spoken to him…

Just like that, he was gone. It was relieving and it was horrible. After death, there were no second chances.

"Eddie," James murmured, getting to his knees. The shotgun clattered to the floor, and he stared at his hands. "I…I killed a human being…"

I opened my mouth, intending to say something, anything, but I could think of nothing to say. Maybe it had been self-defense, but…god, we had _killed_ someone.

"A human being…" James repeated in a flat voice, pressing his hands to his face.

I walked over to him, bending at the knees and placing a hand on his shoulder. He jolted a little, as if he'd forgotten I was there.

"Hey," I said quietly. "Let's get out of here." It was all I could think of. We couldn't stay in here, in this frigid room filled with blood and death. And I couldn't stand to look at Eddie's body any longer. It was brutal.

James looked up at me. "Brittany…" His gaze fell to his hands again. "I…"

"The door's over there," I insisted, pointing up ahead. "Come on. Please."

"Yeah," he agreed in a near-whisper, reluctantly picking up the gun.

We made our way over to the metal door leading out of this place, and nothing came to prevent us from leaving. It was at that moment that I faintly noted how out-of-place this freezer seemed, even in comparison to the labyrinth; was there a reason for this room to be here? Was it connected to the things Eddie had seen in this town, somehow?

There was no way for me to know now. Against my better judgment, I turned to take one last look over my shoulder once we'd come to the door. The light behind me suddenly grew brighter, and I knew that James was looking, too.

I almost expected to see the corpse get up and pursue, intent on its revenge. It wouldn't have surprised me at this point. But it remained just that: a corpse, a dead body, organs and tissue and bones. Steam rose from the body and blended with the mist in the cold room. The dim fluorescents in the freezer reflected off of the glazed whites of Eddie's eyes. The hand Eddie had tried to close around James' throat laid palm-up in a pool of blood; the fingers were still slightly curled, eternally frozen in the midst of that last desperate act.

There wouldn't be any police to clean this up, nor would there be an investigation. No one would come to give this disaster some sort of ending, to have some sort of procedure that would make it feel like things were returning to normal. I wouldn't have minded being questioned by officers and going to court. Just walking away like this…it felt _wrong._

Regardless, we turned our attention back to the door. We had no choice but to leave all the bodies here. They would freeze or rot or be eaten by monsters, but there was nothing we could do to change that. We were alive and we had to move on.

James reached out and undid the latch; it slid open with a loud metallic groan. Warm, humid air rushed in from outside, and I involuntarily let out a quiet moan before hurrying out into the fog.

The docks. We'd finally made it outside again and the mild, late spring weather felt wonderful. I walked further out, enjoying the sound of my shoes hitting wood. The grey waters of Toluca Lake were placid as ever. The fog was even thicker here, but I didn't mind it; it was a nice change from the pitch darkness the town had been enveloped in earlier.

Earlier…how long ago had it been? It felt like days ago. It still amazed me that I had survived that. It still…

My remaining energy seemed to fade and I flopped down on to the dock, using my outer thigh to cushion the fall. It hurt a little, but I was still mostly numb. I'd probably feel it later. Hell, I'd probably feel everything later.

"Are you all right?" That was James, coming up behind me. He sounded about as exhausted, mentally and physically, as I felt.

"Yeah," I replied. My voice cracked a little. "That was half-intentional. Since I'm already down, can we rest?"

He took a seat next to me in reply. The wood of the dock was slightly warm. Out of everything that had happened since I had come here, this short interlude between horrors had to be one of the better moments. It was over…we had finally gotten past the labyrinth, and now we just had one place left to go to.

"…Are _you_ okay, James?" I asked after a few seconds.

He was quiet for a moment before answering. "Your leg's bleeding."

"Oh…a bullet grazed me," I replied, staring at the wound.

"Let me see," he prodded, reaching into his bag for something.

I set down the pipe and placed my own bag next to me, and then reached down to tug the leg of my jeans up. The task was more difficult than I'd anticipated; my hands were still partially numb, and working some feeling into my stiff fingers was a bit of a project. After a moment, I managed to expose the wound.

I cringed a little when I saw it. Now that there was no cloth covering it, the cut bled freely. It would definitely need stitches if I ever got out of here. Even though it was painful, though, I had to be grateful that it wasn't anything fatal. It still amazed me that this was the worst injury I had received while in this town.

James pulled out a small white box with a red cross printed on the front—a first-aid kit. Thank god he'd managed to obtain one of those. He withdrew a roll of bandages and a bottle of something from the box, and then moved closer to me.

After wiping most of the blood away with a clean white cloth, he glanced over at me. "This might sting a little."

"Is that antiseptic?" I asked, nodding towards the bottle he held. He nodded, and I smiled weakly. "Okay, I'm ready."

It _did_ sting a little, but thankfully not as much as the injury itself. After he was finished disinfecting the wound, he pressed a small gauze pad over it and went to work wrapping bandages around my calf. And within a few minutes, the wound was neatly bandaged and I was feeling much more optimistic.

"You were hit too, weren't you?" I asked, stretching out my leg. I had seen him wince several times in the last few minutes, and I had a feeling it hurt more than he was letting on.

"Yeah," he replied. I looked over at him and he lifted his shirt a little, revealing a long cut similar to my own. I almost cringed; that much blood, just from a graze. We were _very_ lucky.

I snatched the antiseptic away from him. "Your turn. By the way, this might sting a little."

"I think I can handle it."

My lips turned up a little in a smile, but once I got to work it quickly faded. Bandaging the wound just reminded me of how he'd received it in the first place, and the fact of Eddie's death hit me once again. Those glazed, unseeing eyes…

"Hey," I murmured as I worked. "You never answered my question."

"Your question?" He looked over at me, so I took the opportunity to meet his gaze.

"Are you okay, James?"

He looked away again, and I knew then that he'd deliberately avoided the question when I'd first asked it. A few seconds passed before he answered.

"…I killed him, Brittany." I had a feeling the pained look on his face wasn't from his injury.

I was quiet for a while as I finished bandaging up the wound. It was just too hard to think of what to say to that. I had been having trouble coming to terms with it, too. It wasn't like I hadn't played a part. When James was finally cleaned up, though, I set aside all of the first-aid supplies and looked at him again.

"You saved my life," I told him in a quiet voice.

"But I…" He put a hand over his face, shaking his head.

"We tried reasoning with him. He was about to kill us," I said, looking down. "I don't…I don't like it any more than you do, but…if you hadn't fired when you did, it would've been me lying in there…"

We fell silent again after that, each of us mulling over our own thoughts. The image of Eddie's corpse was burned into my memory. Every time my mind wandered, it came full-circle and went right back to that. Even if I managed to escape this town, that was one thing I'd never be able to forget.

"Ah…here," I eventually said, wanting to change the subject. I shrugged off the coat I was wearing, pulling my arms out of the sleeves and handing it to him. "I think I'm warm enough now. Thanks," I added, attempting a smile.

He nodded a little, taking it back and starting to put on again. James just didn't look quite right without his green coat. Besides, all he had on besides that was a grey polo tee shirt, and that alone probably wouldn't last here. My own destroyed shirt was evidence enough of that.

James hesitated, glancing over at me. "Are you sure? Your clothes are still wet."

They had also been half-frozen, but they were mostly thawed now that we'd been sitting out here. I shrugged.

"They're wet whether I'm wearing the coat or not," I replied. "Besides, I told you. I'm feeling all right. It'd be nice if I could find a change of clothes, but…"

I really _wasn't_ feeling all right, I was sore and tired and my leg hurt, but given the circumstances I was just grateful to be alive. As long as I was still breathing, everything was just peachy.

"There might be something in the hotel," he remarked, looking out into the fog that blanketed the lake.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Hey, wasn't the hotel the first place we were supposed to go? We took one hell of a detour."

That at least got a little smile out of him. "No kidding."

Even though I was still a little cold (but thankfully not frostbitten), sitting out here was nice. It was…unusually peaceful. The radio was quiet; there weren't any monsters in the immediate area. For the first time in a long while, I actually felt like I could relax. Nothing was going to happen until we got to the hotel, and I wasn't going to bother thinking about the future until we walked into that building. Right now, it was just me and James and the tranquil sound of rippling water, and I was okay with that.

"So…" I continued after a minute. "The Lakeview Hotel's the last special place you can think of, right? It's our last stop."

"I guess so," he replied wistfully. "I wonder if Mary will be there. Did she really die three years ago…?"

"She wrote you that letter, right?"

I wasn't sure where I was going with this; part of me just liked talking to James, and the other part was wondering how this was all going to play out in the end. There were multiple endings to the Silent Hill game, so I didn't have anything concrete to count on. Personally, I was hoping for the Leave ending, because that seemed like the only happy one. Other than that…James would kill himself or lose his sanity. We couldn't get the Maria ending if Maria wasn't around…oh, but the Dog ending would be awesome.

"She did," James answered, breaking me out of my thoughts. He reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper. He unfolded it, holding it out for me to see.

"I've read it so many times," he went on, "but I still don't know who else could have sent it besides her."

I stared at the paper. I stared at it for what felt like a long time. Though I had known this, though I should have seen this coming, I still wasn't prepared for it in the end.

The paper was completely blank.

Not a single word was printed on the clean white surface. I could hear Mary's voice in the back of my head, reading the letter in the first scene of the game; I could recite the contents easily. But I couldn't see any of what James was seeing.

A chill ran down my spine. I had known about this; it had unnerved me when I had discovered it for myself. The further you progressed in the final parts of the game, the more you lost of the letter…until it vanished completely. The letter never existed to begin with. James only saw it until he realized just what was going on.

It was still disturbing, though, to see James talk about a blank sheet of paper like it was something more. Was he going crazy? Or was it really just extreme denial?

"What's wrong?" he asked, nearly causing me to jump.

"Nothing," I answered a little too quickly. "I was just thinking."

He gave me a doubtful look, folding the paper up and pocketing it again. "Are you sure you're all right?"

_I should be asking you that,_ I thought, and immediately pushed the thought away. James was okay. It wasn't like he was the only person who had hallucinated in this town. Maybe things were a little weird, but I was going to stand by him and see this through.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied with a smile that felt rather forced. I turned my gaze towards the lake. "Whatever happened to Laura, anyway?"

James seemed to relax a little. "I think she'll be at the hotel. She's looking for Mary, too."

"That's convenient."

"Listen, Brittany…"

"Hmm?" I looked at him, curious.

"If you…" He hesitated. "If you need a ride back to New York after all this, I'll take you."

"Really?" My eyebrows flew up, more at the subject change than anything else. "That's a six hour drive, you know."

"It's the least I can do after dragging you along with me all this time," James said.

"It's not like it's your fault. And if I recall correctly, you haven't been _dragging_ me along," I pointed out, smiling genuinely this time. "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

The joke caused his expression to soften, and he offered me a slight smile in return. "I'll still take you, though. But if you don't want to, I—"

"To be honest, I don't have anyone else that could," I interrupted, looking away. "I mean…I'd be grateful." My phone was dead, and even if I could call someone, how would I explain my being in New Hampshire? It would be easier to make up excuses for my absence if I could get back to New York on my own.

"Okay," James simply said. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you a good driver?"

He gave me a bemused look. "What?"

"Well, I was just thinking, it'd kinda suck to die in a car crash after going through all this," I elaborated.

"I think we'll be all right," he replied, finally caving and giving me a real smile.

"Best road trip ever," I remarked, grinning.

We laughed a little after that, before slipping back into a comfortable silence. It was easier to talk about what would happen after all of this was over. It made me feel better just to assume that we would live through this and that everything would be all right in the end.

But although I managed to make James smile on occasion, I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was still grieving over the death of his wife. He had been running away by coming here; he didn't want to face reality, to live on with the knowledge that she was gone and that he was the reason why. Even assuming everything went the way it should, would James really able to let go of his past?

He could still smile and he could still laugh, however rare it was. That gave me enough hope to press onward.

"Hey," I said, meeting his gaze. "Now seems about right. Let's finish this while I'm still feeling up to it."

"Okay," James said, nodding readily enough. He got to his feet, helping me up. "The hotel's across the lake. We should be able to get there by boat."

"Lo and behold, a conveniently placed rowboat," I walked down the dock a few feet, gesturing to said vessel.

James didn't comment on my remark; he just stepped off the dock and into the boat, spreading his feet out a little to steady himself. Then he turned, holding a hand out to me.

I smiled wryly. James, such a gentleman. Then I took his hand, hopping down into the boat as well. It was a tiny wooden thing, and I found myself hoping it wouldn't fall apart halfway through its journey. My clothes were already wet enough, and I wasn't in the mood to go for a swim.

James took a seat at the bow of the boat, pulling the oars from their spot on the floor. I stood at the other end, untying the knot of rope that held the boat to the dock. Once the boat was free, I took a seat as well.

"Do you see that light?" he asked me, gesturing behind him.

I squinted for a moment, seeking it. It was faint, but I could see the familiar glow. I nodded.

"The hotel dock had a lamp post. I think that might be it," James explained. "I'll row. Just tell me if I start to go off course."

"Got it," I agreed.

And so we lapsed back into silence, drifting away from the dock as James began to row. The fog seemed to swallow us up. In less than a minute, it was impossible to see where we'd come from or where we were going; all that was visible was that single light. I kept a steady eye on it, afraid it would vanish if I looked away.

As the minutes passed, fear slowly crept back into my system. It had been overpowered by relief earlier, but it was impossible to keep it at bay for long.

The image of Eddie's corpse flashed through my mind again. I knew it was going to do that, the memory was going to come back and hit me whenever I had a moment to think. One outstretched hand with the fingers still curled, frozen with sinister intent. It was probably turning grey now. Corpse grey…like the waters of Toluca Lake.

The fog never seemed to end. I pushed away my thoughts and continued to watch the light slowly grow closer, listening to the sound of moving water and James' breathing.

What was lying in wait for us up ahead? Would we end up fighting Mary in the end? Maria? Or something else? I wasn't sure how things would go anymore. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

There was one black thought that lingered in the back of my head, fueling my fear; it was the image of Maria, hanging helplessly before two Pyramid Heads. No matter how much I tried to push it away, the image persisted.

And then the boat rocked suddenly, hitting something. I realized that it was the dock to the Lakeview Hotel.

James dropped the oars and got to his feet, gripping the wood of the dock, and an all-too-familiar feeling of dread flooded through my system. It was time to finish this…I could only pray it wouldn't end the way I thought it would.

I took James' outstretched hand and stepped up on to the dock, my knees feeling weak.

"This place hasn't changed at all in three years…" he remarked quietly, and I looked up.

For a moment, I saw nothing but a blackened and charred building. But then I blinked, and the image was gone. In front of us was a large, pretty hotel with a neatly trimmed lawn and fountains on either side of the path leading up to the doors.

I rubbed my eyes and looked again. The building was still there, still white and pristine, though I knew it was quite the opposite in reality. It looked like James definitely wasn't the only one seeing things around here.

He began the trek up the docks, headed for the large building. I followed him, my leg throbbing with every step as I mentally prepared myself for the last leg of our little adventure. Hopefully I would live through it.

Hopefully.

* * *

**A/N: Urrrrgh...my eyes hurt. I really need to stop writing into the wee hours. Sleeeeeep...**

** I'm not sure what to think of this chapter, but I tried. We'll get back to business as usual next chapter. Jammed doors and creepy monsters, yay! Important plot points, more yay!**

** As always, please review. ;D Your reviews inspire me like you wouldn't believe. Seriously.**

** Next time: The lovely Lakeview Hotel, where everything just goes to hell in a handbasket. **


	14. Tension

**A/N: New chapteeeeer! :D I'm happy, because this turned out pretty well, even though I've been feeling rather insecure since it's the last leg of the story and all. I have a hard time...y'know, _ending _stories. XD Especially in the SH fandom, when you want to tie up some loose ends but leave a few unanswered questions so people can speculate their lives away~ ;D**

**So yeah, I'm glad I managed to get this done before two months passed...though one month is still pretty long. XD And dear god, now I have to immediately work on my _other _fics, and _never _try to update more than one fic regularly because then you just end up putting off both of them and procrastinating and writing totally random other things that have nothing to do with anything. Hurrrr.**

**90 reviews, guys! Thanks so much for the support! Let's try and break 100. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I ownnn...nothing. 'Cept my character.**

The front doors to the hotel opened with the typical ominous creak, revealing a pitch dark interior. James immediately turned on his flashlight. I was tempted to pull out my own, but I needed both hands to swing the pipe. A one-handed whack might be enough to deter the Mannequins, but not the Abstract Daddies or Doormen or whatever the hell I was supposed to call them. I hadn't been present for the scene with Angela (come to think of it, James hadn't said a word about her to me), so I wasn't sure what to expect. I just knew that the shotgun was the best weapon for them; hopefully James had been hoarding ammo.

My arms broke out in goosebumps as we entered the darkness, the doors closing behind us. I had actually never attempted using the pipe on those monsters; close-range combat was unsafe, since they tended to charge right at you like a bull on the fucking rampage. Oh, right…and they always tried to molest you and/or eat your face off if you got too close. That too.

Weren't there any other weapons I could use? We couldn't waste the rifle's ammo, we'd need that for…for later. I remembered getting a great deal of satisfaction using the Great Knife to one-hit kill the things, but I didn't _have _the damn thing, and I had no desire to unnecessarily piss Pyramid Head off by stealing it.

"Brittany?" James had paused, staring back at me. No static yet; it was safe to talk.

"Sorry. I was thinking," I replied with a shrug. Then I reached to my left, my hand finding the map tacked to the corkboard. I pulled it off, handing it to James. "We'll need this."

He took it from me, pausing to examine it under the flashlight. After a second, his lips tugged down in a frown and his eyes darkened.

"What is it?" I asked.

James gestured for me to come closer. I did so, looking over him to the paper he held. He was pointing to one specific spot, a room on the third floor. The phrase "Waiting for you…" was written there. The handwriting was distinctly feminine. I had forgotten about this little detail; seeing it now gave me chills.

"The room Mary and I stayed in," he elaborated, though I had already made the connection.

"And that's her handwriting."

"Yes." James folded the map slowly. "Mary…does that mean…she's alive? She's really here, in this hotel?"

I had to look away. Something told me that if he saw my expression right then, if he saw the sadness, the pain and the fear, he'd make the connection that I was hiding something. If only I could explain it to him…explain everything. But I was afraid of what might happen if I did. It hadn't seemed this way when I first met him, but sometimes I sensed that James was walking down a very thin line. That…that "letter" he'd shown me…and everything that had happened…he'd been deluding himself this whole time.

_The Old Gods haven't left this place…_

"What is it?" My violent shudder had broken James out of his reverie. Now he was staring at me closely, probably attempting to read my expression.

I shook my head. "It's…it's nothing. Shouldn't we get going?"

He frowned for a minute, and then nodded. "…All right. We need to get to room 312…maybe there's a key at the front desk. The lobby's this way."

James still looked a bit troubled, but he seemed to realize that I wasn't willing to talk about whatever was on my mind. That was for the best…I doubted he'd like hearing that I was beginning to question his sanity. Not that it mattered; I was on his side anyway. Things would turn out okay in the end. And if they didn't…I'd deal with that later.

When he began to lead the way, I followed him readily enough. The hotel's normal layout comforted me after all the nonsensical labyrinth passageways. I knew this place pretty well, so I could find my way around easily without a map. That fact was comforting too.

As I remembered, the lobby had two entrances, located on either side of a staircase that led into the basement. We opened the pair of double doors to the right of the stairs, revealing a large room that was a welcome change from the dark hall. Several windows on the back wall let in a good amount of light from outside. It was a gloomy, grey illumination, but it was better than pitch darkness.

I paused by the staircase as James walked a little further into the room. It really was a beautiful hotel…I could just picture this lobby all lit up, full of people. Hell, I could almostpicture Silent Hill in its original state: a picturesque little resort town on a lake, surrounded by what was almost certainly the White Mountains. I had _been _to towns like this before…my aunt lived in Jackson. New Hampshire wasn't a big state; for all I knew, that town was just a twenty minute drive from here. It was infuriating that familiar surroundings should be so close, and yet impossibly far away.

If I hadn't known just where I was, I probably would've assumed that this was a perfectly normal (albeit deserted) hotel. It wasn't dusty like the hospital had been; actually, it almost seemed like it had been abruptly abandoned moments before we came.

"It really is the same…" James murmured. He was standing in the middle of the room, looking around with a wistful expression.

Part of me wished I could see the hotel for what it really was. I didn't like the fact that even though I knew the truth about the hotel, I _still _saw it the way James did. Was I any different from him, then? Maybe I needed to start examining my own mental state before getting all concerned over his.

"This place does look strangely normal compared to what we've seen," I remarked. "Still creepy, though."

There was a pair of armchairs in the corner of the room; I vaguely remembered there being a save point in that spot, but obviously it was absent now. A small table sat between the two chairs, and on it was a cup of coffee. When I reached down to touch the side of the mug, I noted that it was still a little warm. Who the hell had been here?

"Very creepy," I added.

"Hmm."

"What's up?" I looked over at James, who was standing at the foot of the large staircase, examining a certain piece of furniture in the center of the room. Oh hey, puzzle.

"It's this music box," he murmured. "It looks like there's something lodged in there…" James paused for a second to tinker with it. After a second, he gave up and shook his head. "No good. It's really stuck."

I walked over to him and followed his gaze. The music box looked like an antique; the wood shined like it had been recently polished. There were three rectangular indentations where the smaller boxes would go, and two small doors on either side. There was the telltale glint of metal coming from something lodged in the right door. The tip of something was poking out…that was the stairwell key, the one we'd need to get to the third floor.

"I bet it's a key," I noted, playing dumb as usual.

James frowned. "I remember Mary being interested in this. When it plays, this track rotates and the doors open. But it won't seem to work…maybe it's broken."

"It's missing something," I pointed out. "Look. There's inscriptions next to these indentations."

He looked closer. "Oh, that's right. There were smaller music boxes here."

"''Twas shameful greed did stain her shoe with blood'," I read. "That's…pretty morbid."

"Some kind of clue…?" After a second, James just shook his head. "We'll worry about it later. Look, the front desk is over there."

"Right," I said, following him obediently. It felt good to be going through the motions. Like I had some sort of control now that things were more predictable.

We made our way up to the front desk. I had the sudden irrational urge to ring the bell, just to see if anyone would come, but I resisted it. It was too quiet in here…it wouldn't be this quiet if people were around.

James' eyes were glued to the back wall of the reception office. The shelf on the wall was full of small individual cubbyholes labeled with what looked like room numbers. Without saying anything to me, he immediately went through the door and into the room. I watched him from the other side of the desk, leaning my elbows on the wood. The radio was still quiet; I could let myself relax.

"Here it is," he remarked after a few seconds. James turned around to face me, holding up the key to room 312.

"Wow," I said, too tired to feign surprise. "Almost seems too easy."

"What's that under your elbow?"

"Huh?" I looked down. It looked like I had been leaning on a sheet of paper without realizing it. I picked it up, staring at the contents. "'Mr. James Sunderland, the videotape you forgot here is being kept in the office on the first floor.' You left a tape here?"

James frowned thoughtfully. "Videotape…that's right. I made one during our vacation here. I hadn't even thought about it until now…"

I gave him a wry smile. "So your 'special place' is a hotel room, and you made a videotape…that must've been a fun vacation."

He just gave me a flat look, snatching the paper out of my hands and shoving it in his pocket. Then he left the office, shutting the door behind him. "Let's go."

"What? Come on, you totally set yourself up for that joke," I teased, following him, but he clearly didn't find it funny. Come to think of it, hadn't Maria pissed him off by cracking a similar joke?

_So the hotel was your 'special place', huh? I'll bet it was._

"…I'm sorry," I mumbled, angry at myself for doing anything _she _would do. "That was in pretty bad taste."

James shook his head and held one of the lobby doors open for me. "It's fine. I'm not mad."

But I had obviously struck a nerve, so I decided to just let it go. Now wasn't the time to be making dirty jokes anyway. We had more important things to worry about.

We made a left turn, heading down the hallway to another set of double doors. Unsurprisingly, they were jammed. James swore quietly, pulling out the map and staring at it again.

"The office on the first floor…it has to be in this area," he murmured, pointing at the building's right wing. "I don't see any offices labeled anywhere else."

"But it's just the guest map, so not all the rooms are labeled." I shrugged. "There might be a way around." It was hard to seem puzzled over something I already knew the answer to. Oh well; I didn't exactly want to rush things either, since…something bad was probably going to happen once the big reveal was done with.

"Let's head to room 312 first. I want to see what's in there."

"Lead the way." I gestured toward the stairs at the opposite end of the hall. He did glance at the elevator next to us, but turned away after a moment. We were understandably leery of elevators after our previous experience.

Just as James was about to head down the hall, he paused, seeming to notice something. I followed his gaze and realized what had caught his attention. There was a pair of double doors to our left; a sign above them read "Lake Shore Restaurant". The doors were cracked open.

We exchanged a glance. Without a word, James stepped forward and pushed the doors open, walking into the room. I stepped in behind him.

The restaurant was silent and empty; I closed the door before walking further in so nothing could follow us. To our right were several tables and in the corner sat a polished grand piano. It didn't look like even a speck of dust had settled on its surface. Once again, I felt a little disturbed at how this place actually looked _cared for._ It had to be all in our heads.

The back wall had a large sliding door that led out on to a deck overlooking the lake, and several windows revealed nothing but grey fog. The majority of the restaurant's tables were to our left; oddly enough, a lot of the chairs were pushed out, as if everyone had decided to get up and leave at the same time. There was a door against the left wall that I presumed led into some sort of kitchen. James started to head tentatively in that direction, until something else caught his eye.

"What is it?" I asked. In the thick silence, my voice seemed too loud.

He walked up to a table, picking something off of a plate and holding it up so I could see. Oh, I remembered this. The Fish Key.

"It doesn't have a label or anything," James said quietly. "Just a fish-shaped keychain. Wonder what it goes to."

"Look for fish-shaped doors," I remarked helpfully, receiving another of his looks in return. I wondered what he would think if he knew that I could have all of these puzzles solved in ten minutes flat.

James frowned, looking around for a few more seconds. When he determined that there was nothing else worthy of note in this room, he turned to the door. "Well, let's—"

A sudden loud noise cut him off, and we both jumped. It took a moment for me to realize that it had been the sound of piano keys being hit; I berated myself for being startled by something I had known was coming.

I came up behind James, watching the piano. His shoulders relaxed as we both saw a small, _human _figure peeking at us from behind the instrument. A few quiet notes filled the air as other keys were lightly hit. The notes were accompanied by a small giggle.

"Did I scare you?" Laura asked as she walked out into the open, grinning impishly.

"Yeah, you did," James said, sounding for all the world like a weary father.

The girl came to a stop in front of the two of us. I saw her grin fall as she gave us an appraising look. Then she wrinkled her nose. "You two look terrible."

James and I exchanged a glance, looking at each other's clothes. It was true, we were pretty beat up, and my shirt was on the verge of falling off and/or vaporizing, but…

…Why wasn't she commenting on the _blood?_ Didn't she see it, caked on to us? Didn't she _smell _the coppery tang in the air?

Maybe not. Maybe we just looked dirty, in the same way that this hotel looked clean.

"We took a shortcut here," I said, as if that explained everything.

She seemed to let it go, instead frowning at me. "Who are _you?_ Are you looking for Mary too?"

I shrugged. "Not exactly. I'm more like…an annoying sidekick."

James sighed. "Laura, this is Brittany, a friend of mine. She's been helping me with the search." He looked over at me. "Laura was friends with Mary when they were in the hospital."

"Nice to meet you," I said automatically. The girl didn't say anything back; she just stared thoughtfully for a second, before pushing herself up on to one of the restaurant chairs.

"Did you come here looking for Mary, Laura?" James asked.

She nodded. "That's why you're here too, right? She's here, isn't she? If you know where she is, tell me. I'm tired of walking." She said the last sentence in a weary half-whine. I envied her innocence. No more than an hour ago the two of us had been dodging bullets, and here Laura was complaining of sore feet.

"I wish I knew…" James murmured with a downcast expression.

"But she said it in her letter!"

That got him to perk up. "What letter?"

Laura reached into one pocket, pulling out a folded sheet of paper and holding it out. "Here. Wanna see?"

James took it, eagerly unfolding it as I moved to look over his shoulder.

"But don't tell Rachel, okay?" the girl said quickly, causing James to falter.

"Who's Rachel?" he asked incredulously.

"She was our nurse," Laura explained. "I took it from her locker."

"…I won't," James said, his brow still slightly furrowed. It seemed like a petty concern for her to have, but she was a kid, so it was to be expected.

Then he immediately returned to unfolding the paper. I was relieved to find that there was an actual letter this time and not just a blank sheet. The writing inside was the same feminine style that we'd seen on the hotel map. Mary's handwriting.

I already knew what it was going to say, but it couldn't hurt to read it another time. The next few minutes were spent in silence; Laura fidgeted impatiently as she waited for us to finish.

_My dearest Laura, I'm leaving this letter with Rachel to give to you after I'm gone. I'm far away now…in a quiet, beautiful place. Please forgive me for not saying goodbye before I left. _

_Be well, Laura. Don't be too hard on the sisters. And Laura, about James... I know you hate him because you think he isn't nice to me, but please give him a chance. It's true he may be a little surly sometimes, and he doesn't laugh much. But underneath he's really a sweet person. _

_Laura…I love you like my very own daughter. If things had worked out differently, I was hoping to adopt you. Happy 8__th__ birthday, Laura. _

_Your friend forever, Mary_

I finished reading a minute or so before James. I had a feeling he was rereading the letter over and over again, engraving the words in his memory. This was something his deceased wife had written, after all.

When James finally did look up, Laura was over by the sliding door, drawing pictures on the fogged up glass. Her current picture resembled a cat, though it wasn't exactly anatomically correct.

"Laura…" James started, getting her attention. "How old are you?"

"Um, I turned eight last week," she answered.

This caused him to falter, lowering the letter and pressing a hand to his head. "So Mary couldn't have died…three years ago…" He stared at the floor, looking deep in thought. "Could she really be here? Is this the 'quiet, beautiful place' she was talking about?"

"Me and Mary talked a lot about Silent Hill," Laura told him. "She even showed me all of her pictures. She really wanted to come back. That's why I'm here."

I grimaced a little at this, but didn't comment. Part of me had to wonder if Mary would've suffered the same fate, had she vacationed in a _different _resort town. Oh, well…it wasn't her or James' fault. I suppose the tourism brochures left out the parts about cult rituals and mysterious disappearances.

"Maybe you'll get it if you see the other letter," the girl said, breaking me out of my thoughts. She was feeling through her pockets, looking for something. "The one Mary…huh?"

Her eyes widened as she checked through her pockets again. "I must've dropped it!"

"Laura…" James took a step forward, but she was already running past him.

"I gotta find it!" she yelled, the restaurant doors slamming behind her as she dashed out into the hallway.

James started moving towards the doors, hesitating a little. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't bother. She made it this far without getting a scratch on her, so she's obviously a hell of a lot better at this than we are."

He seemed to agree. It didn't really look like he had it in him right now to give chase, anyway. Instead, James slumped into a chair, frowning deeply. I took a seat next to him and we sat like that for several minutes.

When the silence dragged on too long, I looked over at him. "Well?"

He just shook his head. "…I'm sorry. I just…don't know what to make of this."

"I have a feeling the second letter will clear it up," I remarked with a shrug.

"What do you think?" James asked. "You read the letter too, right?"

A sudden stab of pain in my stomach caused me to wince, and the reminder of my condition just made me grow impatient with him. "Shouldn't you _remember _whether your wife died or not? Maybe it's just me, but that's kind of important."

He didn't even seem to hear the edge of sarcasm in my tone. James just slumped over a little more, looking completely lost. "The memory, it's…foggy. I thought it was because of grief at first, but…I just don't know. I don't remember her funeral…" He pressed both hands to his face. "There must be something wrong with me."

_Understatement of the year, _I thought almost contemptuously. Then I took another look at James, and hated myself for thinking it. Here was a distraught man, leaving himself vulnerable in a moment of weakness, and all I could think of to do was insult him in my head. How could I criticize him if I wasn't even willing to lend a hand?

Another stab of pain. There was probably something wrong with _me, _too.

"Don't start saying things like that. You know this place has been messing with our heads," I said, reaching out and patting his back sympathetically.

He lowered his hands, staring into them. "Do you think…Mary could really still be alive?"

I hesitated for a moment, weighing a few different responses. Then I sighed. "James…the 'quiet, beautiful place' she mentioned could've just as easily been heaven."

James nodded slowly. Clearly he'd had the thought before, but he just didn't want to believe it. The other option was so much more appealing. Believing in the alternative meant he could keep running away from reality.

The pain in my gut was getting worse. I pulled my hand from his back, pressing it to my stomach. I could feel the real agony coming, the way you feel a bad cramp just before it intensifies. There was no way to stop it except just to brace myself.

"Brittany?" Apparently my movement had caught James' attention; he was staring at me with concern.

"Shit…" I grimaced, hugging myself and bending over slightly. "This damn thing…has really bad timing…"

James had turned to face me fully, obviously unsure of what to do. There was nothing he _could _do—I didn't even know what the hell caused this, never mind how to stop it.

Excruciating pain began to spread throughout my body, throbbing in time with my heartbeat, causing me to see red. My breath started coming in short gasps. I didn't even feel it when I hit the floor, and in moments I had forgotten James was even there.

The world went from red to black. I felt a crawling sensation beneath the pain, like a swarm of insects under my skin. Unable to see or think or breathe, I moved on instinct, clawing at my arms, trying to rid myself of the feeling. My efforts were thwarted abruptly when I was suddenly pinned down by something, unable to move no matter how much I struggled.

Agony.

…_mes…id you k…_

_Jam…_

Voices in my ear. I couldn't distinguish between memories and reality, but somehow it all seemed familiar. I wanted to get away from it, but the throbbing pain immobilized me.

_James…_

_You're the same as me. _

_James…_

_You're just as guilty as the rest of us._

…_ill…_

_This town called all of us._

_Kill…_

_You think this is some sort of game, don't you?_

…_id you k…_

_We're not like other people._

I screamed, feeling like my head was about to split open. I couldn't hear my own voice. It felt like I was underwater.

_I am…if you want me to be._

_Those who walk in shadows walk with Death._

_Why did you kill me?_

The pain abruptly lessened to a manageable level, my vision returning so quickly that it almost hurt. I was aware once more, and I could breathe deeply, feeling the air fill my lungs and clear my head.

James had me pinned to the floor.

The second my mind caught up with what was going on, all I could do was stare. And it baffled me that _he _was the one giving _me _an incredulous look, like his actions were perfectly normal.

"Brittany…" James started in a low voice, his brow furrowed with confusion. I didn't let him finish.

"What are you _doing?"_ I rasped, bewildered.

That seemed to do the trick. Moving with impressive speed, he practically launched himself out of my personal space, getting to his feet. Then he alternated between looking away uncomfortably and staring at me like he wanted to help.

I was too exhausted to try and figure out what the hell it was this time. Instead, I slowly allowed myself to register that I'd had another one of my episodes, and had just now recovered from it. The pain still existed—a slow, steady throb beneath all of my other pains—but it was easily ignored.

My arms were bleeding. I vaguely recalled an itching, crawling feeling, but it seemed like a distant memory now. My stomach churned as I saw that my fingernails were covered in fresh blood. Had I done this to myself, clawing at my own arms?

"I had to pin you down. To stop you," James explained awkwardly as I came to this conclusion. I looked up at him, but he still wouldn't meet my gaze.

"Did I, like, have a seizure or something?"

He shook his head. "No…but you were screaming a lot. It was…" James shook his head again, his eyes darkening. It occurred to me that he was realizing now that my condition was a lot worse than he'd originally thought, and I had to push back another wave of nausea and fear.

But something else didn't add up. "Why were you looking at me like that?"

Finally, James hesitantly glanced over at me. His eyes were clouded with the same conflict and confusion he'd shown when he had read Mary's letter earlier. They were the eyes of a man who was truly lost. I didn't like that look…it worried me.

"You…don't remember what you said?"

That got my attention. I tensed, remembering the voices I had heard, but unable to recall exactly what they had told me. Had I been screaming some kind of gibberish?

"What did I say?"

He looked away again, obviously uncomfortable. "It's…probably better if I don't—"

"Just tell me," I said impatiently, desperately wanting to know what had bothered him so much. "It might be important."

"You asked me…if I wanted to touch you." James finally managed to force out the words. His voice sounded almost mechanical.

My mouth fell open. "That's…I…"

What the _hell?_ Why had I said something like that? That wasn't a question I had ever asked anyone in my life, never mind some guy I had just met! I—

_I'm here for you, James. See? I'm real._

_Don't you want to touch me?_

I pressed my palms to my forehead for a moment, willing away a headache. Why? _Why _did her voice have to follow me everywhere, mocking me?

"…_Fuck!_" I suddenly yelled in frustration, wanting to cry.

"Brittany…" James murmured my name again, giving me a disquieted look. He reached out, hesitated, withdrew his hand.

"I don't know why…" I trailed off, shaking my head, and then met his gaze. "That's not something I'd ever say in a normal state of mind. I have zero interest in…y'know, _that! _Especially not in some screwy town with a _married _man that I just met and—and—"

I was getting too choked up, so I didn't say anything more. I just drew my legs up and pressed my face into my knees, drowning in my own horror and self-disgust. What the hell was going on? I just didn't know anymore!

There was a sigh. I felt him come closer, kneeling on the floor in front of me. "I know. It's okay." His voice seemed more relaxed now.

"I don't remember saying it…" I whispered, fighting down the lump in my throat. My insides still throbbed. It hadn't been like this the other times…hadn't been this intense. And now I was trying to hurt myself? Saying strange things? That meant…it was only getting _worse…_

"It's all right," James repeated the standard mantra. "You're back to normal now. Everything's okay." But he didn't place a comforting hand on my shoulder, didn't attempt to pat my back. He wouldn't touch me.

It took a few minutes of slow, deep breathing to calm me down. When I finally felt rational again, I raised my head from my knees, relaxing my posture a bit. James had taken a seat on one of the restaurant chairs. The faraway look in his eyes suggested that he'd become lost in his own thoughts while waiting for me to gather my bearings.

"I'm sorry," I said.

James looked over at me, and seemed a little relieved. "You don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do," I told him in a flat tone. "That was…really weird and uncomfortable, and I'm sorry. My arms sting like a bitch…can I have some bandages?"

He cracked a small smile at that, and began to dig through his bag. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me, too," I said quietly. "But I don't know how long it's going to last."

"Don't say that," he admonished me, but I shook my head.

"I'm not just being negative. It's getting worse…something's _happening _to me."

James handed me the bandages, letting me apply them myself rather than doing it for me. He was still careful to keep out of my personal space. It hurt a little, but I couldn't blame him. Jesus, I really _was _going crazy.

"There has to be some way to stop it," he murmured, troubled.

"Yeah." I snorted. "A bullet between the eyes." Or, hell, a pillow to the face. James could help me with that.

"That's enough," he said vehemently, flinching a little, as if he'd heard my unspoken thought. "Stop thinking that way. We've made it this far, and I'm not going to let this…_thing—" Illness. _"—get any worse."

For a minute, I let myself believe him, and I smiled weakly. "…Thank you."

We were quiet for the next few seconds as James watched me bandage up my bleeding arms. The wounds were minor, but they were just another pain to add to the list. It still unnerved me that I had inflicted this upon myself. Even in the depths of my worst depression, I had never been the type to attempt self-mutilation…why had I done this?

"The pain…" James faltered. "It's…worse than before?"

I nodded slowly. "And it's still there. It usually fades completely, but…"

"It still hurts?" he repeated, tensing a bit.

"It's more like an ache, but yeah," I confirmed.

"Maybe it's just taking longer to go away," he suggested bleakly.

"Maybe," I said, but didn't believe it.

A few minutes passed and I finished with the bandages, handing the remainder back over to James. I was still seated on the floor, caught up in examining my own condition. A bullet graze, several cuts and bruises, and now these scratches…all in all, I had still made out miraculously well considering everything that had transpired.

My clothes were damp. The blue jeans I wore had long since gained a layer of rust-colored grime that was a mixture of blood and god knows what else. They were torn at the knees and ripped in several other places, but still mostly intact.

I couldn't exactly say the same for my old t-shirt, though. As if things with James weren't awkward enough…my top was so tattered that I was half expecting it to fall right off at any minute, and I had no idea what I would do then. Wander around wearing just a bra? No. Just no.

"I wonder if there's any way I can get some clothes," I mumbled, scowling slightly at my pathetic looking attire.

James, meanwhile, was consulting the map. He glanced over at me briefly before returning his attention to it. "There's a gift shop connected to the lobby."

I got to my feet in response. "Sounds good. I'm feeling okay now, anyway."

"Are you sure?" he asked, giving me a scrutinizing look.

"Yeah." The pain still hadn't faded, which worried me a little, but we weren't going to make any progress at all if we just sat around and felt sorry for ourselves.

He didn't protest after that, simply pocketing the map and standing up. I picked up the pipe, which had found its way to some random spot in the middle of the floor; I couldn't remember when I had let go of it.

We stepped out of the softly lit restaurant and back out into the pitch black hallway. James paused for a second, reaching up to fiddle with his flashlight and turn it on once more.

"If there's nothing in the gift shop, there might be something left over in one of the employee rooms," he remarked quietly, and looked over to frown at the double doors that still refused to open. We'd have to use the elevator to get over there…who knew what would happen between now and then.

"I'm cool with pretty much anything at this point," I replied in a near-groan. "My clothes are—"

Then everything seemed to happen all at once. I was abruptly cut off by a burst of static. One moment the two of us were turning to look down the dark hallway, and in the next something _huge _was barreling down at us. James grabbed hold of me and we both dove to one side, into the niche of hallway created for the elevator.

The wind was knocked out of me first as I hit the floor, and then as James' weight came down on my back. The walls rattled as we heard a deafening crash behind us. Then silence reigned once more.

Only about five seconds had passed and I still hadn't regained my breath in that time. I just stared wide-eyed at the floor in front of me, my heart pounding as I wondered what happened. The pain had escalated and it now felt like I had fallen on a knife. That made catching my breath all the more difficult.

"…Are you all right?" James sounded about as stunned as I felt. The fact that he was capable of speech, though, meant he was faring far better than I.

I managed a quiet croak, but the effort was drowned out by an inhuman moan. I felt James tense behind me. Then his weight was mercifully lifted from my back and I found I could breathe a little more. When I managed to scramble into a kneeling position, I saw James brandishing the shotgun warily, staring down at the…whatever-the-hell-it-was lying at his feet.

A second passed. The thing twitched. James seemed to think for a second, before lifting one foot and giving the monster a good, solid kick. There was an audible crunch that made me feel a little sick, but then the thing seemed to deflate, and it moved no more after that.

I stared at it from my spot on the floor. Finally, one coherent thought registered—_this _was what an Abstract Daddy looked like. It wasn't much different from its game counterpart, though it looked larger in person. Not as huge as I'd originally thought…that had been the fear playing tricks on me.

"Jesus Christ," I whispered. That was the only thing I could come up with that summed up my feelings at that moment. That thing…had _charged._ And if we hadn't reacted in that split second, we would've been completely crushed. Like being hit by a fucking _car._

James turned to look at me. His hand twitched; for a moment he began to reach out, as if he were about to help me up. Then his fingers just closed into a fist, his hand falling to his side once more.

"Come on," he said, turning away. "We shouldn't stay out here…there might be more of them."

"…Right," I replied, groping blindly for the pipe.

He waited just long enough for me to get to my feet, and then we continued onward. I followed behind him, watching his back and feeling strangely upset. Then I let out a quiet sigh, impatient with myself, and tried to shake off the emotion. It was hard enough dealing with the fear…I couldn't let myself be bothered by petty things.

We walked back into the lobby, which thankfully still lacked monsters. I had a feeling I just might wet myself if we ever ran into one of those things again. Hell, even Pyramid Headgave more warning before—

_No. _Those two words were taboo. I couldn't even allow them to surface in my thoughts, or I just might fall apart at the seams.

I shaped my face into a neutral mask, watching as James checked the map and found the door to the gift shop. To my surprise, it actually opened. There was one stroke of luck.

The contents of the shop were even better; it had the standard amount of souvenir t-shirts in pretty much every size one could imagine. Most of them bore the words "Lakeview Hotel" or "Silent Hill" on the front in large letters and depicted peaceful scenery. I frowned a little. Back in the world _I _knew, the images on Silent Hill apparel were a little more true to the town. To think, there had been a time when I had desperately wanted my own stuffed Robbie the Rabbit to satisfy my own morbid sense of humor. All of my old love for the games seemed completely absurd now.

"Well?" James' voice broke me out of my thoughts.

I shrugged. "…There's no changing room. Could you wait outside for a bit?"

"Oh…you…yeah. Let me know when you're done." He fumbled with his words, lowering his gaze. In the next second, he had left the room.

Now that I was finally alone, I let out a heavy sigh. Things only ever seemed to get stranger around here. I could feel my grip on reality slipping even further, and the secure feeling I usually had when I was around James was starting to slip, too. But wasn't this what I had wanted? Not to be protected, to stand on my own?

But I didn't want to be _alone…_

The continual throbbing pain I felt only worsened my feeling of isolation. This was something he couldn't help me with, wasn't it? He couldn't just protect me from this. And now my reactions weren't even normal—all of the fear and the breakdowns had been predictable, but not…_this. _Not these cutting, cynical thoughts toward his mental state, and certainly not those…those disgusting words I had spoken that I didn't even remember.

James couldn't help me. He didn't even want to get _near _me anymore. Part of me thought it was better this way now that I couldn't rely on him so much. The other part wanted to go back out there and hug him, to sob into his chest, to ask him desperately why he couldn't just be there for me.

As I was shuffling halfheartedly through the clothes on the rack, my hand brushed against a rectangular shape. I reached down and picked it up—a box of handgun bullets. Ten…enough to fill the magazine. I began to slowly and methodically reload, taking comfort in the monotony of the activity.

The magazine slid into place with a click. I stared at the gun for a few seconds…and then smiled bitterly, holstering it again. It looked like I couldn't even muster up the courage to help _myself._

For the next few minutes I spent in that room, I did my best to just stop thinking altogether. It was easier not to cry that way.

* * *

**A/N: Kinda makes you feel bad when you know things are only going to go downhill from here. **

**Feel free to comment, criticize, speculate, etc. in your reviews. ;D Reviews help me slay the beast known as writer's block!**

**Also, since we're nearing the end (though I have a feeling the hotel will take up a few chapters), I figure I'll let you guys in on this little detail now...since I've always tried to stay true to the games, I'm going to stick to the SH tradition and give this story several endings. SH2 doesn't have a concrete ending, and I hate to just pick one. There'll probably be variations of the endings you all remember...and probably one or two extras. It'll be up to you guys to decide for yourselves which one really happened. :D**

**...except if I, y'know, write a sequel or something. -shifty eyes- oh, but I'd never do that, would I...?**

**Next time: _Weight allowance: one person._**


	15. Apologies

****

A/N: Woooo! New chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, guys; I was pleasantly surprised to see we _did _break 100. ;D you're awesome.

Didn't get as far in this chapter as I thought I would, but certain scenes just sneak up on me when I'm writing. XD It's like "hey, I didn't plan that!" But they just sort of happen. Writing is an adventure sometimes. The characters do whatever the hell they want...I just observe and take notes! XD

Anyway, enjoy the latest installment. :D

After searching through the clothes in the gift shop for a little bit, I was able to find the things I needed. I ended up putting on a new t-shirt and a hoodie; both had "New Hampshire" printed on the front in large letters. No way in hell was I taking anything that referenced Silent Hill.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything suitable to replace my jeans, so I just kept them. They weren't as damaged as my top had been. All I could find here were sweat pants, and those would get destroyed far too quickly. I was grateful enough for the things I _had _found.

By the time I walked out into the lobby where James was waiting, I was feeling at least a little better. Physically I still felt like shit, but at least now things could be less awkward. I was barely showing any skin now. Plus the hoodie made me look flat! There, not sexually appealing at all—the complete opposite of Maria.

…Why did I feel the need to make that kind of an effort? Weren't we different enough already?

"Ready?" James broke me out of my disturbed train of thought. He was standing near the central staircase. Now that I was paying attention, he _did _seem a little more relaxed. Good.

I nodded. "Ready enough. Room 312, then?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Let's go."

* * *

The illumination from James' flashlight seeped through the bars of the metal grate, creating exaggerated shadows on the other side. The third floor hallway was visible but just beyond our reach. A heavy looking padlock secured the grate in place. James had been scowling at this padlock for about thirty seconds now. Meanwhile, I had grown bored and taken a seat on the stairs, leaning my back against the offending grate.

"Well, this is a bit of a predicament," I finally remarked.

I knew I should be acting a little more bothered by this development, but I didn't have it in me to feign emotions anymore. My insides ached and I wanted to go home. Part of me was debating on whether or not to find a way to solve all the puzzles the second James had his back turned. But the fact still nagged at me—I didn't know how this was going to end.

James had pulled out the Fish Key; he let out a sigh when he confirmed that it wasn't the correct one. He unfolded the map and looked it over. "The key must be around here somewhere…"

What was the best decision? Maybe it would be better to separate myself from James, to just walk out those doors and into the fog and go on my own journey. Maybe that was what I'd been meant to do from the beginning—the reason why Pyramid Head had taken it upon himself to separate us back in Brookhaven.

No…but that didn't seem right. The way all of this had been going…it couldn't be coincidence that I'd been playing as a Maria replacement all this time. Did the town mean for me to die? If that was the case, then there would be no escaping from here…

I reached up and pressed a hand to the area the pain was focused in now, a spot just below my solar plexus. Still throbbing. I wondered what I would do if it got worse.

"…and then keep going from there."

"Hm?" I looked up at James, realizing that he'd been talking.

He frowned at me. "I said we should probably start checking rooms. If we don't find the key, we might at least find what this one goes to." He held up the Fish Key.

I shrugged, getting to my feet. "Your call. Either way, there's gotta be _something _around here."

We walked back down the stairs and into the second floor hallway. This hall wasn't that long, so I felt a bit more at ease; nothing could come charging at us from the darkness. If I recalled correctly, all we had to worry about in this area of the hotel were mannequins.

…But sometimes a _lack _of monsters was worse than an abundance of them. There was only one thing that could drive them all away…

I wasn't going to let myself dwell on that thought.

As always, this hotel looked normal to the point of it being unnerving. It was odd that normal was what looked out of place here, but that was just how it was. Seeing it all and knowing it wasn't even real also didn't help my nerves.

James started walking. I followed him down the hall, making sure to keep a tight grip on the pipe I held. Now that I had bullets in my handgun, I wasn't going to waste them. Who knew when I might find more?

"I feel like we're in The Shining," I remarked, looking around the dark hallway.

"We'd might as well be," James replied wearily.

"Stephen King probably stays here on the weekends." I managed a weak grin, grasping feebly for my sense of humor. "You have to admit that'd explain a lot."

The joke seemed to fly way over his head. James just spared me a single glance before opening one of the doors in the hall. "…I doubt he'd want to write about it." His tone pretty much ended the subject.

"Okay, I give up," I rolled my eyes. "…All work and no play makes James a dull boy," I added in a mutter, sulking a little.

He didn't seem to hear me, and I was glad; it was one of those times when I said something and instantly regretted it. James already worried me sometimes; comparing him to a complete lunatic just seemed like a bit of a bad idea. Now all I could think about was Jack Nicholson hacking open a bathroom door with an axe. Heeeeere's—

James looked over at me. "Found it."

I walked further into the room we'd entered, trying to drop my previous train of thought. James was a little…off, but it wasn't like he was going to turn into _that, _anyway.

Despite my efforts to comfort myself, I was still a little disturbed when I came to James' side. "Found what? Oh…" He was holding the Fish Key.

"It unlocked this briefcase," he explained. Said briefcase was on the counter in front of him; it was now that I finally took in the surroundings, recognizing the layout of this room.

"Good. Let's see what's inside." I stepped a little closer, leaning over to see. I didn't have to feign interest this time, since I had actually forgotten what was supposed to be in there. Was it one of the music boxes?

He dropped the key on the counter next to the briefcase, and then reached out to open it. At first I had the absurd thought that it was empty; then James shined his flashlight a little closer and I saw the single small object in the case.

James started a little, immediately snatching the key up, but then his face fell. He held the key out so I could see.

"Room 204…not even the right key," I noted. "Hmm…I'm sensing another wild goose chase. We'll probably find another key in that room that leads to a puzzle where we have to rearrange dead bodies or something, which _then _will lead to some enormous monster that swallowed the key we _actually _need."

The blond pressed a hand to his forehead. "…That actually sounds plausible at this point."

"Sad, isn't it." I snorted, but even James' reaction wasn't enough to make me laugh. Because what actually was in store for us wasn't much better.

After examining the key for another second or so, he pocketed it. "Well, I guess we should see if there's anything else in this room."

"Way ahead of you," I replied as I walked over to one of the shelves on the wall. A few small boxes had caught my eye. Reaching out, I plucked one off and read the label on the front.

"What is it?" James asked, approaching.

I turned and stuck the box in his coat pocket. "Shotgun shells. Merry Christmas."

"…Thanks." He gave me the usual bemused look.

Now I picked up the second box, confirming that it was in fact full of handgun bullets, and shoved it in my bag. There, now I had twenty rounds. If I was careful, I could make them last, too.

The two of us searched the rest of the room but didn't find much else of interest. At least we did manage to find a pack of medical supplies in one of the drawers. Not that First-Aid kits gave me the same feeling of security as they had in the game. Here they couldn't exactly bring us back from the brink of death.

The bullet graze on my leg still stung a little. How long would that take to heal completely? More than just a day or two. What would happen if one of us actually got badly injured? We didn't have any sort of medical training. And even if the town permitted us to leave, the walk to James' car would be way too long if one of us were hurt…

"Brittany?" James was at the door, waiting for me.

"Ah…coming," I said. We moved back out into the hallway.

I didn't know what to do anymore. At this point—right _now, _anyway—things seemed sort of okay. We could survive if we only had to deal with the puzzles and the regular monsters. But…but _later, _after we got past this music box puzzle…

Maybe there was some way to avoid it, whatever was going to happen. But if there was a way, then I needed to think of it fast. While we still had time.

Rather than going straight to room 204, James opted to check the rest of the doors in the hall. When it came to exploring the town, he was about as thorough as I'd always been. I certainly understood the irony of it. It even looked painfully familiar as I watched him walk down the hallway, pausing just long enough to rattle a doorknob and confirm that it was in fact broken.

The next open room we found was also familiar—the Reading Room. Let's see…there was a short cutscene here if you came back after watching the video tape…oh, and there was that book, the Crimson Ceremony.

…I had to make sure James didn't pick _that _up.

"I remember this room," he murmured as we walked in.

So did I. It was like a miniature library, full of bookcases crammed with all sorts of reading material. A desk sat under the window on one wall, an open book resting on it. On the other side of the room was a round table that also had plenty of books sitting atop it.

"Yeah?" I glanced over at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Our vacation was before Mary got really sick," he explained, "but even then she had…a cough. I didn't think anything of it, but…but when it began getting a little more frequent, I came here. To see if there were any medical books I could look at." I couldn't help but notice the way he was frowning intensely at all the books piled on the table.

"What is it?" I asked.

He walked over and picked up a few of the books, examining the covers. Then he just shook his head helplessly. "It's almost like…_nothing _has changed. Like this place hasn't been touched at all."

"So…what, these are all the books you found?" I gestured to the table. "And they're still piled here where you left them."

"It can't be." He sighed. "I must just be imagining things."

"James, I somehow wandered into _my own bedroom_ while exploring this town. So the idea of it isn't that far-fetched."

"But why…?" He gave me a troubled look before returning his gaze to the books. "I wonder if any of this is even real…"

"Who knows?" _No, it's not. _"I guess we'll find out soon."

As James looked over the books on the table, growing more and more disturbed, I wandered over to the other side of the room. My eyes roamed over the titles on the bookcase. It seemed normal enough. There were fiction and nonfiction sections, and most of the books didn't look to be all that interesting. Not that I'd have time to be reading anything, anyway.

Then the color red caught my eye. I had found what I was looking for.

The book was clearly very old; the cover felt worn, and the pages were yellowed. I glanced around the edge of the bookcase to confirm that James was still distracted, and then turned my gaze back to the tome in my hands. "Crimson Ceremony" was printed on the cover in gold letters. There was no author listed.

Frowning, I opened the book. On the inside of the front cover was the symbol of The Order—the Halo of the Sun. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Other than my meeting with Vincent, this was the first time I'd seen solid evidence of the cult's existence. Part of me was glad we wouldn't have to deal with it. This place was frightening enough…but the only thing that could possibly be _worse _was that which had given birth to it.

When I glanced at the cover page, I only needed to read the first few words to understand that this was indeed the same book.

_Speak._

_I am the Crimson One._

_The lies and the mist are _

_not they but I._

_You all know that I am One._

_Yes, and the One is I._

That was more than enough. I had already broken out in a cold sweat, my hands trembling just a little. What I held in my hands was evil—I could sense it. Just reading those dark words made me feel dirty, like I was letting something unpleasant in.

_Believers hearken to me!_

_Twenty score men and_

_seven thousand beasts._

_Heed my words and speaketh them _

_to all, that they shall ever be_

_obeyed even under the light of_

_the proud and merciless sun._

The proud and merciless sun…the Halo of the Sun. My eyes lingered on the red circle for the next few seconds, wandering over the various symbols inscribed within. Fans of the game had managed to translate the runes and had analyzed the thing to death, and yet still it retained an air of mystery and wickedness.

Real…it was real. A symbol I had seen countless times behind the television screen. Some fans had gotten this _tattooed _on their body. Did they realize what they were really supporting?

I reached out with my opposite hand, gently brushing the tips of my fingers over the circle. A chill ran down my spine; I could _feel _the change in texture when I touched the ink, a sure sign that this had been drawn in by hand.

It was strange…so strange. The ink was almost hot to the touch. But that couldn't be right, could it? Hot…burning hot. My head pounded. I felt dizzy.

Something shifted inside me and I took in a choked gasp, falling to my knees as the pain from before came back in full force. The tome fell to the floor in front of me, lying open on that page, the Halo of the Sun glaring red and mocking me. I leaned forward, hugging myself as I let out a sharp hiss of pain.

James was at my side in an instant. He hovered there, alarmed, clearly unsure of what to do.

"Hah…hahh…" Despite my attempts to breathe regularly, each exhale was beginning to sound more and more like a sob. It was agony. I was still aware of my surroundings but it _hurt, _it hurt so bad and the pain wouldn't let up.

And James wouldn't touch me. Wouldn't rub my back or pat my shoulder or fucking get _close, _and that made me want to scream more than anything.

"Brittany," he said urgently. He edged a little closer, swore under his breath, and then backed away with a guilty look.

"It's okay," I managed, smiling bitterly. "You…you don't have to. Wouldn't…wouldn't fucking _want _you to touch me anyway. Hah…hahaha…"

He met my gaze and I saw that look in his eyes again, that lost look. Still mourning. Still weighed down by the burden of his sin, still hating himself. Did he even _really _care if he died here? Or was he just carrying on because…somebody else relied on him…?

Now I felt guilty, intensely so. Tears stung at my eyes. "N-No…I'm sorry…"

"Are you…still hurting?" he asked quietly after a few seconds.

I breathed in deeply and let it out as slowly as I could. It hurt…but it was finally going down a little. Still too much pain to move anywhere. But I could form coherent thoughts and talk a little if I tried.

"Wait…" I replied. "Let's…wait here for a few minutes. Is that…is that okay?"

"Yeah," he agreed, to my relief.

We sat there for a few more seconds, me hugging myself and James on his knees. The silence confirmed that we were indeed alone and I could afford to have this moment of weakness.

"…What's that?"

I looked over to see James reaching for the open book on the floor, the one with those dark words and the cult circle that still made my insides burn when I looked at it—

"_Don't!" _Before I could fully register what was happening, I had smacked his hand away.

James withdrew immediately, giving me a shocked look. "…Brittany?"

It was hard to think of an excuse through my haze of pain. I didn't know what to tell him, but I couldn't deny the feeling of panic that had torn through me when I saw his hand about to make contact with that vile book.

Before he could reach for it again, I flipped it shut and picked it up. It felt oddly warm under my fingertips. Like human flesh.

…Where had that thought come from?

"Just…don't," I breathed, shuddering. "Please."

"Hey…" James watched me. His tone was cautious, gentle. "You know you can trust me…right?"

"I do trust you." Did I? Maybe. It was hard to think. The pain was escalating again.

He hesitated for a moment, seeming to think his next words over carefully. "Is…there something you're not telling me?"

That simple question hit me hard. It summed up the entire problem. So much. _So much _I couldn't tell him. So many things I wanted to say, but couldn't communicate. The creeping agony darkened the edges of my vision and I felt tears streak down my cheeks. I was powerless, just a puppet being strung along. All I could do was keep this book from him. I hugged it to my chest and began to let out choked sobs.

The blond was very still at my side. I knew he was watching me, trying to understand my reaction. Finally he spoke.

"Don't do this to yourself." His voice was fraught with despair. "Please. Just tell me."

I was shaking my head helplessly before he even finished talking. "I'm going to die…"

"Stop saying that!" James said forcefully.

"It's the truth!" I snapped, and then my composure crumbled. I lowered my head and had to fight the pain and the lump in my throat. "Everything's just…just getting worse. You know it. You know I'm falling apart, so shut up! Unless you can prove me wrong, just sh-shut the hell up!"

Several tense seconds passed and James didn't say anything. I broke down into sobs once more, turning away from him. He didn't leave his spot at my side, even though at that time I desperately wanted him to. I was sick of him seeing me like this. I was sick of him observing and not _doing _anything.

There was no way of telling how long we remained like that, me crying to myself and James lost in his own thoughts. Crimson Ceremony was still clutched to my chest; I couldn't afford to let it go. Because despite James' distance, the thought of him slipping away from me forever was unbearable.

"…I'm sorry," he murmured after an eternity passed.

Somehow I felt like I should apologize, too. But I didn't. I just clung to the book and tried not to drown in the pain.

"All this time, I've been saying I'd protect you," James continued in a flat voice. "But I couldn't do anything. You were put in danger everywhere we went. And now…now you're sick. You came with me because you thought I could help…but I only made things worse. I failed."

His quiet admission made the tears worsen, but I kept silent. I didn't know what to say in return. I just waited. What I was waiting for, I couldn't say.

"I'm…powerless. I can't do anything. I…" He let out a shaky sigh. "You're probably mad at me. I understand. Just…please. Let me keep trying. Let me believe I can save you. Don't give up just yet."

As he was speaking, I had turned slowly to look at him. James wasn't looking at me anymore; he was staring at the floor, his shoulders hunched. Guilt. So much guilt…why was he so hell-bent on protecting me? What drove him?

…Was it really _me _he was talking to, or was he lost in his own memories?

I pushed Crimson Ceremony on to one of the shelves next to me, ensuring that it was well-hidden amongst the books. Having it out of my hands made me feel at least a little better. Then I turned to the blond and attempted to wipe away my tears.

"James…" I said quietly.

He looked up. Again, I noticed how exhausted he looked. It frightened me. That sort of exhaustion…it suggested that if he let himself rest, he might not wake up.

No words would come now that I was confronted with that sorrowful gaze. Instead, I simply gave my reply by falling forward and wrapping my arms around him in a sort of halfhearted hug. He tensed. I didn't let go, resting my chin on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

"…I don't know what crazy things I say when I'm…not myself," I murmured. "But just…relax, all right? I'm not going to…to do anything weird. Right now…it's just me."

"I know," he said in a low voice. He didn't push me away, but he didn't return the embrace, either.

I sighed. "I'm really fucked up. Sorry I yelled at you."

"No, I…I deserved it. I couldn't…"

"It's impossible to protect someone in this place," I said. "But if you want to keep trying, then…feel free." Then I pulled away, attempting to compose myself. "One condition, though."

He seemed a little more relaxed now. "…What is it?"

"You can't give up on yourself, either." My voice cracked as I said it, but I managed to push back the tears. The fact that the pain had subsided a bit helped as well.

James stared, surprised. "What do you…?"

"I mean you can't die," I said more forcefully. "No matter how bad things get. Don't even think about offing yourself, either."

His eyes darkened. "I would never do that. Never."

"Promise me, then."

"I promise." He held my gaze, solemn. "I'm not going to let you die. All right?"

"Sure." My smile was strained. "Sure, okay. But I'm going to need a few minutes. I don't think I'm fit to move right now."

The look of worry in his eyes was unmistakable, but he eventually nodded. We had moved on from that dark patch of conversation. Back to business as usual.

"How bad is it?" James finally asked.

"Better than it was earlier, but still hurting. Three stars out of five." I let out a hollow laugh at my own joke, though I didn't really think it was funny.

He reluctantly got to his feet. "…Let me know when you're feeling better. We can leave whenever you feel up to it."

"Okay." I sighed quietly, leaning against the bookcase a little and closing my eyes.

It fell silent after that. James walked to the other side of the room but thankfully didn't attempt to leave. Occasionally I heard the sound of rustling paper as he flipped through a book.

Jesus…what was happening to us? Everything was just…deteriorating. It wasn't our environment anymore—it was us. We were the ones lost in the fog, being consumed by darkness. This building looked normal. We were the abnormalities now.

Why couldn't I keep my thoughts in order? The fear and the pain twisted everything around. My emotions were unpredictable and impossible to keep in check. I wanted to trust James, to rely on him. But at the same time, the thought of doing so terrified me.

A long time passed before I finally attempted to get to my feet. Twenty minutes, maybe thirty. It had seemed far longer. I pushed myself to my knees, using the bookcase for support. When I began drawing up to my full height, though, a pang of the old pain came back and I whimpered.

James had come around the edge of the bookcase. "Don't push yourself. Take as long as you need."

"Longer I wait, the worse it'll get," I pointed out with a thin smile. Then I grew dizzy and my vision became hazy, so I leaned on the bookcase a little more. For a moment I rested my head against it and closed my eyes.

A hand came to rest lightly, hesitantly on my shoulder. Physical contact. I almost cried. And just as soon as I'd noticed it, he'd taken it away, almost as if he expected me to strike out like a cornered animal. Maybe I would one of these days.

The red spine of the Crimson Ceremony was poking out slightly from one of the lower shelves. Hadn't I hidden that better? It was just my imagination. Couldn't be the same book…but the spine was red, blood red. Rust red. The color of heat. Of anger and pain.

"…Wonder if this is how Alessa felt," I mumbled, feeling a little woozy. "Something inside me. But I can't get it out. It's eating me alive. He stabbed me and my blood was black…"

"Brittany?" James stepped closer, and the hand came back, squeezing my shoulder firmly. Bringing me back to reality. "What are you talking about? Who's Alessa?"

I blinked, the clouded thoughts leaving my mind. The dizzy feeling left as well. What had I been saying? I hadn't even realized I had been talking aloud.

"...I don't know," I lied, rubbing my forehead. "Um…I think I'm okay now."

"You're sure?" He frowned skeptically. It was obvious that my behavior bothered him immensely.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "It's passed. For now, anyway. So we should get some crap done while we've got time."

The pain had faded, but not as much as the last time. The lingering feeling was worse now. I didn't tell him that. We already had enough to worry about.

James stared at me for a few more seconds, seeming to size me up. Then he finally relented. "…All right. There's not much further to go, anyway. Maybe after this we can get you to a hospital."

I let out a hoarse laugh. "I hate hospitals."

"Me too," he said quietly.

As we walked over to the door, James paused, looking over one shoulder at me.

"So…what _was _that book you were looking at earlier?"

"Nothing." My answer came instantly.

He let the subject drop.

* * *

The instant we entered the west wing hallway, I sensed the change—a subtle shift, but noticeable all the same. The feeling of…wrongness, that sudden vulnerability, it was back. I had felt it back in the labyrinth and the hospital. The sense that anything could go wrong at any time. It was happening again; the hotel's odd normality and structure was going to cease to exist.

At that moment, as I stared into the darkness of the long corridor, the air suddenly felt suffocating and thick. The hallway was too warm, and a strange, almost heady feeling pervaded my senses. Was that a heartbeat I heard? There was a presence in this building; calling, beckoning…

"What…" James felt it too. But the moment he began to voice a question, the sound of static blared from the radio.

The two of us fell silent, tensing. There, just ahead—something in the shadows moved. Then a large monster lumbered into the flashlight's range. It was the same kind that had given us a scare earlier; the Abstract Daddy. And just as we prepared to take it on, a second one came into view right behind the first. Together their forms took up the width of the hallway. It was impossible to go around them.

My concern over the sudden change in this place was ignored for the time being as survival instincts took over. James had pulled the shotgun out and the hall lit up as he began firing; its wide range made it the perfect weapon. Both monsters let out roars as the buckshot tore into their flesh, spraying blood everywhere. The fleshy figures caught in the middle of that frame—the _bodies_, how could they be human bodies—they moved, writhing in agony. One of them collapsed.

Then, just as I thought the second one was going to fall, the worst happened. James attempted to fire again and all that came was a hollow sounding _click_. He dug frantically in one pocket for the box of ammo I had given him, and lost his grip on it. The box fell to the floor, spilling shells everywhere in a rush.

In the time he had spent fumbling in an attempt to reload the gun, the Abstract Daddy had reared up on its hind legs. I was suddenly confronted with a horrifying wall of flesh closing in on us. A large mouth opened and closed, breathing out hot, putrid smelling air. It didn't even seem to have any teeth—just endless folds of palpitating pink flesh, reminding me of—of—

We were backed against the wall and it was coming too close and there was no time to escape through the doors nearby. James had dropped the shotgun on the floor and was reaching desperately for the hunting rifle slung over his shoulder, but I knew the weapon would take too long to fire.

My stomach lurched. I held the pipe out with both hands and lunged at the creature in an attempt to hold it off. The ends of the pipe met each end of the (bed?) frame with a loud clang and the monster stumbled backwards a step. But even when wounded, I found that it was far too heavy to hold back. My shoulders strained with exertion as the Abstract Daddy redoubled its efforts, causing my arms to shake under the strain.

It came closer and closer as my strength failed me. The mouth inched nearer to my face. Its breath washed over me in a revolting wave. I couldn't breathe. Letting go wasn't an option; there was no possibility of moving out of the way in time. I would be smothered under its weight.

The fleshy body pushed forward, struggling to be free of the frame that trapped it. Struggling to encase my head in that gaping maw. Finally I had to take in a breath, and I wished I hadn't; a sour taste came into my mouth, something I couldn't name and certainly didn't want to. No matter how powerful the urge, I couldn't afford to scream. It wasn't touching me and yet I was already suffocating. Then the monster's hands finally did find a hold on me, entangling its fingers in my hair, gripping the back of my head and pulling me closer to my death.

Suddenly there was a muffled explosion. The weight pressing against me was abruptly relieved as the monster was thrown back with surprising force, falling backwards on to the floor. I stumbled forward at the sudden lack of resistance but managed to stop myself from collapsing on top of the fallen creature.

Its arms and legs twitched for a few seconds, searching, reaching for something…and then they fell still. The monster's flesh sagged and deflated until it was just a lifeless pile of flesh on the floor, flesh with a bloody hole in the center of it.

I looked over to James. He was gripping the hunting rifle with both hands. We exchanged a glance—each ensuring that the other was okay—and then James bent over and began salvaging what he could from the box of shells he had dropped in his moment of panic. I leaned against the wall, breathing slowly in an attempt to calm my racing heartbeat.

The static from the radio had faded into silence. We were safe now. But the pungent smell of blood and death was a harsh reminder that this brief calm wouldn't last long.

* * *

Room 204, fortunately, was monster-free. It even seemed somewhat normal—that was, if you were willing to ignore the gaping hole in the wall. It turned out to be relatively difficult to ignore.

James' first action was to head straight for that hole, the shotgun (now loaded) ready to fire if something went wrong. I wasn't too concerned; the radio remained quiet, and I was fairly certain nothing was lying in wait for us here.

As the blond investigated his end of the room, I turned on my own flashlight and moved towards a desk in the corner. Something caught my eye—an old looking key. Sitting in the exact same spot as always. Not for the first time, I got the sense that this town was mocking me; it showed me just enough predictability to make me start feeling a little better, and then it would throw another curveball. Like that elevator in the hospital. Like those strange feminine monsters that only I could see…

I couldn't drop my guard. Not for one second.

"Brittany," James called. "Look. There's something in here…"

When I shined my flashlight towards the hole, I saw James standing in the other room next to yet another briefcase. I stepped through the hole, doing my best to avoid stepping on the splinters of wood and debris. Then I approached James and held out the key.

"I found something, too," I said, and dropped it into his hand.

"Employee elevator…" He read the tag, frowning thoughtfully. After a moment he took out the map, looking it over. "Wonder where that is."

I leaned over to take a look, myself. "This is just a map for the guests…so anything the employees use is probably in one of these grey areas."

James nodded. "There's one over here." He pointed to the correct room.

"Right," I agreed, glad he'd immediately figured it out. "Should we go look?"

"Hold on," he said. "Take a look at this."

The briefcase I'd spotted earlier was lying on its side next to an overturned table…and it was locked, of course. Nothing could ever be easy. James had noticed the design of the lock—it was a four-letter code, but neither of us knew the combination. That was when he showed me the photographs on the bed, and how one in particular looked like it might have our answer. As I remembered, the combination was crossed out in heavy black marker.

Hmm…what was it we needed? Paint thinner, right? That was…somewhere downstairs. In the basement. We hadn't gone down there yet. But how could I communicate to James that that was where we needed to go? It looked like we would be wandering until he stumbled upon the answer and put two and two together.

Thorough as ever, James insisted on examining all of the various photographs on the bed before leaving. I had taken a look too out of sheer curiosity—damn my curiosity. Even after all this, I still found the town fascinating to some degree, at least when it wasn't trying to kill me. I would probably try to erase everything about it from my memory if I ever escaped, but while I was stuck here, I didn't mind examining anything that might clear up some old questions on the town's dark history.

Anyway, for a moment I had wondered if the photographs might offer something interesting, but I was sorely disappointed. Most of them were of the scenery around Silent Hill (and oddly enough, random objects inside the hotel). I did spot a few family photographs, and quietly hoped that those people were faring better than we were. Though for all I knew, they could've been the people Eddie had killed.

Eddie…

Again, just when I'd managed to push it to the back of my mind, the fact of his death hit me and left me winded. It was never going to go away. That darkness and guilt would always linger.

To distract myself, I knelt down next to the briefcase and absentmindedly began trying some of the codes I remembered from my own playthroughs of the game. It didn't help that the word changed every time.

…"Luck" didn't work. Neither did "Open". "Lose" was no good. What other words had I gotten? I had only beaten the game so many times…

"Anything?" James asked. He'd taken note of my efforts.

I shook my head. "Nope."

He sighed. "We'll just have to leave it, I guess."

"We can come back to it later," I replied with a shrug, getting up.

"All right. Let's look for that elevator."

The hallway was still abandoned when we reentered; no monsters had come to replace the ones we had killed. Not yet, anyway. But as we slowly made our way to the other end of the hall, that feeling crept up on me again. Everything looked the same…but it was changing, all the same. I wished that I could see things for what they really were. My inability to make sense of this was becoming more frustrating by the second.

That was why my old fascination with this town persisted, even now—if I could just understand this place, figure out what made it tick, maybe I would stop feeling like I was losing my grip on reality. But it was the _lack _of sense that made it so terrifying. I didn't want to believe that all of this occurred completely randomly, that there were no rules. I needed to cling to what little logic I could.

We made our way through the lobby and to the east wing of the hotel. James tried the key on the door he'd pointed out, and it worked. The door opened and we walked in.

The room we had entered was relatively bare, aside from a cart full of cleaning supplies in one corner and a pair of cardboard boxes stacked up in the other. A bulletin board hung on one wall, but it didn't seem to have anything interesting tacked to it. What did catch my interest was the large shelf against one wall. It was strange how something so ordinary could make me feel sick.

James scared the hell out of me by stepping into the open elevator. A buzzer instantly started blaring and we both jumped. He was startled enough that he immediately stepped out of the elevator car, and the loud noise stopped right away.

"Holy crap," I groaned, leaning against one wall as I waited for my heart rate to slow. I had _known _that was coming, too. My own fault for not keeping an eye on James.

"It's just some kind of alarm," he told me, letting out a shaky sigh of his own. "I'm going to take another look."

Now that I was prepared, the sound of the buzzer didn't scare me as much. It was still obnoxiously loud, though, and James made sure to keep his examination brief. We didn't want to attract any unwanted attention.

When he stepped out of the elevator a second time, he was frowning. "There's a note above the buttons. It says there's a weight limit of one person."

I had been hoping it would be different in real life, but it looked like Silent Hill was illogical as ever. James' words made me raise my eyebrows, shaking my head.

"The hell kind of limit is that?" I crossed my arms. "You'd think they'd put, y'know, an actual_ weight_."

He shrugged, unable to meet my gaze. "Either way…this means only one of us will be able to go."

That sick feeling again. I didn't like the sounds of this; bad things happened when we were separated. But what other option was there? Still, though…I was still met with the crippling fear that once we separated, we wouldn't be able to meet up again.

I had to stop thinking that way. It wasn't the first time I had been on my own. Nothing could possibly be worse than running blind through pitch black Otherworld streets. If I had survived that, then I could make it through this.

…But I hadn't been quite so sick back then, either. The throbbing pain was now accompanied by an uncomfortable itching feeling, reminding me of my predicament.

While I was lost in my own troubled thoughts, James had been doing something over by the shelf. It was now that I realized he was emptying his own pockets, putting the shotgun and the hunting rifle on to the shelf along with all of his ammunition. Finally he dropped his bag on the floor, and then walked over to stand in the elevator again. The buzzer didn't sound this time.

"Stay here and watch my things," he told me. "I'll be back as soon as I can—"

"Hold on!" I stepped forward before he press any of the buttons.

He gave me a pained look. "Brittany…I have to do this. There's no other choice; just trust—"

"That's not it," I cut him off again, shaking my head with frustration. "James…I'll go. You stay here."

"What?" His eyes widened. "You want to go?"

"Listen, it's only logical." I spoke quickly, not wanting to give myself a chance to think about it and change my mind. "If your weight is the elevator's limit, then that means I should be able to take a few things with me, right? I'm lighter than you."

James didn't say anything, allowing himself to be tugged out of the elevator. I stepped inside; the buzzer sounded. Then I walked up to the shelf, rifling through my handbag and trying to figure out what I could afford to leave behind. I pulled out a few unnecessary items and abandoned the pipe, and then tried stepping into the elevator again. The buzzer came once more.

That caused me to scowl. Seriously? There had to be a bigger weight difference between us than that! It was probably just Silent Hill being illogical, but it felt like this stupid elevator was calling me fat.

Of course, there wasn't much time for childish pouting. When I stepped out to silence the buzzer, it occurred to me that this meant I would have to leave my first-aid supplies behind. I spent the next few minutes testing out the elevator and seeing what it would let me take; the results weren't good.

In the end, I was left with just the handgun and the Swiss Army knife I had picked up ages ago. I couldn't take that extra box of ammo. Ten rounds and a puny knife…Jesus. And I couldn't even take the flashlight—it was too heavy. I had the distinct feeling that somewhere out there, Vincent was laughing at me. Even James' lighter flashlight put me over the limit.

"Well…" I let out a shuddering sigh, standing in the elevator. "It's…it's better than nothing at all."

The blond hesitated, clearly uneasy. "Are you…sure? What if…_it _acts up again?"

I forced a smile. "It's fine. I barely feel it right now, anyway." That was a lie. The pain had actually worsened a little in the last few minutes. But what did it matter? I would be helpless and alone no matter who went and who stayed behind.

"I…" James looked away with a frown. He didn't like this idea at all. Neither did I, but…

"Going down there with no weapon or anything is suicidal," I reminded him. "I've been alone before and I survived. It'll be okay."

My voice sounded surprisingly confident, which was funny because I wasn't feeling that way in the least. I was actually a little nauseous. But it was better this way, right? I knew what to do and where to go. It would be a quick endeavor, like ripping off a band-aid. Just get it over with and run back upstairs.

He stared hard at me for a moment. I forced myself to meet his gaze without looking away. It was always difficult to look into his eyes…sometimes I felt like I might drown in the sorrow I saw there. Right now I could see that he was afraid for my safety—but how could he possibly protect me in either scenario? There was no way around it.

"It'll be okay," I repeated. My knees wanted to start shaking, but I wouldn't let them while he was looking. "I'll be fine."

"…All right." He finally relented. "Be careful. I…might take another look on this floor while you're gone. If you come back and I'm not here, just wait in this room. I'll keep checking back."

"Got it," I said, taking a deep breath and giving him a halfhearted salute. "Catch you later."

Then I reached out and pressed the button to close the doors. James and I watched each other until the very last second, until the doors finally separated us. It occurred to me that we had both realized it could very well be the last time we saw each other.

But I couldn't let those kinds of thoughts in. I cleared my head, and reached out to press the button for the first floor. The elevator came to life and started moving steadily downward. My heart rate started to escalate as my apprehension grew.

I leaned against the back wall of the elevator, feeling weak with fear. The descent seemed eternal.

* * *

**A/N: If you've never read/seen The Shining and thus didn't get those references, shame on you! XD ...I seem to reference Stephen King at least once in every one of my fics. Can't help it, I'm just a hardcore fan. :P**

**Ahh, I love writing all this emotional tension. Now, let's thrust Brit into another dangerous situation! :D **

** As always, reviews are appreciated~ **

** Anyway, I've gotta go to bed! Got a job interview tomorrow; wish me luck! ;D**

** Next time: _Those who walk in shadows..._**

Disclaimer: I own this story, and that's about it!


	16. Darkness

**A/N: Heeeeey guys! As always, sorry that took so long. More computer issues, more writer's block, all that good stuff interferes with my writing...XD Anyway, I finally managed to sit down and actually finish this chapter, so yay for that! I'm pretty glad, since I'd been dreading writing this for the longest time. I still have really mixed feelings about how this chapter came out...but I guess it's up to you guys to decide whether it's good or not.**

**Sooo yeah! I don't have much to say here. Enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I owned Silent Hill...**

Finally, the doors slid open, revealing a dark hallway. Using the scant amount of light coming from the inside of the elevator, I made my way out and attempted to gather my bearings and quell my anxiety.

The sound of the elevator doors closing behind me didn't exactly help.

I immediately swung around and clawed at them, but they wouldn't budge. This couldn't be good. The doors weren't supposed to close, were they? That was my only—

But it _wasn't _my only light source. There was a dim pink light coming from somewhere, though I couldn't pinpoint its location. My first impression was that it was coming from a neon light, but why would one of those be here? In the bar, maybe, but here?

It was no use. Though there were no lights in sight, my eyes adjusted enough so that I could see my surroundings a bit. I remembered where I was and groped at the wall to my left, pulling down the map that was pinned there. It was too dark to make out; thankfully I already knew the layout of this area well enough. I folded up the map and pocketed it for James' sake.

…That damn elevator. I turned around and examined it one last time, reaching over and feeling for the call button. None of the buttons did anything. It looked like those doors were shut for good. The elevator wasn't supposed to work after its first use anyway, but still…

Oh well. No sense in dwelling on something I couldn't do anything about. Instead I turned toward the hallway again, reaching in my pocket and pulling out the Swiss Army Knife. The blade wouldn't do much, but neither would the gun in this lighting. Hopefully I'd be able to conduct most of this exploration undisturbed. It was hard enough concentrating with the continuous pain I was feeling.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself, and started walking slowly forward. The hallway branched off into several others; all remained silent save for the sound of my breathing. My eyes didn't catch any movement. There was just emptiness and that strange pink light.

The knob turned on the first door I came to. I recognized it to be the door to the stairwell, so I left it for the time being and turned the corner, feeling along the wall. My hand encountered something warm and wet and I immediately wiped it on my jeans, knowing I had found blood. The dim light revealed that the walls and floor were covered in spatters of it, as if this entire hall had been the scene of a grisly murder. This wasn't…

With my next breath came that familiar coppery tang. Up until now the hotel had looked completely normal, but now that sense of wrongness was breaking through, distorting…reality? Unreality? I didn't know anymore. The air was thick and my head felt heavy, and still I pressed onward. The walls were bleeding and that was probably somehow hurting me, but there was nothing I could do about it at this point. I just had to keep moving. Keep moving…

I knew where I was supposed to go, but none of the right doors would open. The office containing the video tape seemed to be locked. Actually, _everything _seemed to be sealed shut all of a sudden, and the only escape seemed to be down a hallway that had appeared—one that I was pretty sure didn't _exist, _considering the fact that the entrance to the hallway was a gaping hole in the wall. The most disturbing part was that I was almost positive the hole hadn't been there when I'd first arrived here.

There was nowhere else to go. As I stepped into the hall with the knife clutched in shaking hands, I finally noted that _this _seemed to be where the light was coming from, though I still couldn't see a source. The illumination was stronger in here. So was the smell of blood.

After about a minute of walking, I came to a single door at the end of the hall. The door was a drab grey color, and it had a dirty little window at the top; it reminded me of the doors in the patient wing of Brookhaven. That comparison set me even more on edge. As if to add to the effect, the pain in my gut spiked and I spent the next thirty seconds bent over and clutching my middle.

It eventually subsided, though not completely. The dread I felt grew; the residual pain was becoming worse and worse. Would there be a time when it peaked and never subsided? Would I be left writhing and convulsing on the floor, waiting for a monster to come along and put me out of my misery?

In order to avoid lingering on that thought, I turned the doorknob and opened the door.

It was a hospital room. There was absolutely no way a room like that could be in the hotel, but it was here all the same. A bed, boarded over windows, off white cabinets on the walls, a—

Looking into the room made me feel sick. I backed away a step, averting my gaze and pressing a hand over my mouth. The air in here was heavy, too heavy. I didn't want to go inside. I wanted to turn around, but there was nowhere else to go. But something about that room…

A few minutes passed and I eventually managed to steel my resolve and force myself to take those next few steps forward. Walking into the room was like crossing some sort of threshold. I knew this place couldn't possibly be in the hotel.

Breathing was a conscious effort, and each intake of air felt thick and stale. This room reeked of death…and of despair. The covers on the bed were rumpled, as if someone had been lying there moments before I arrived. On a nightstand next to the bed was a vase of wilted flowers.

I approached that bed, my eyes running over it curiously. There was no pillow; instead a pristine white envelope rested in its place. A single name was printed neatly on the front. _James._

My stomach clenched. I reached out and picked it up, noting that the flap wasn't sealed. With a single trembling hand, I pulled the sheets of paper from within. There were two of them, written on front and back. I only needed to read the first few words to know exactly what this was.

_In my restless dreams, I see that town…_

Mary's letter. The entire thing. What was it doing here…?

I couldn't read this again. This was something James needed to see, not me. I folded the papers back up and placed them in the envelope once more, then folded the envelope and hid it in the pocket of my jeans.

In the moments I had been standing there examining the letter, I became acutely aware of another set of breaths separate from my own. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. There was something here, another _presence_—but what was it? Was it _him?_

When I swung around, there was no one there. But it was then that I pinpointed the source of the eerie pink light; it was seeping through the cracks between the boards on the windows on the opposite wall. Now that my attention was drawn to the other side of the room, I noticed something that set my heart racing all over again: there was another bed in the room. It was hidden from view by one of those privacy curtains, and I could see from here that the inside of the curtain was stained thoroughly with blood. The sense of presence was without a doubt coming from the location of that bed.

My sense of foreboding grew when I noticed the bottle of prescription drugs that was spilled all over the floor in front of me. As I slowly stepped forward, tiny white pills crunched beneath my shoes. The breathing grew louder, seeming to come from all around me. I could almost feel each exhale.

I stopped in front of the bloodied curtain, hesitating. Finally I retracted the knife and pocketed it, opting to pull out the handgun instead. Better safe than sorry.

Something dripped from my free hand. When I held it up to examine it, though, it was dry. A shudder ran down my spine; rather than question the strange sensations I was feeling, I just gripped the gun with both hands.

My head was pounding. I really, really didn't want to see what was behind that curtain. It wasn't just fear, it was—I didn't know what it was. I felt nauseous. But the longer I stood there, the worse my headache got, until I was sure I wouldn't be able to take it anymore.

In the back of my mind, I vaguely recalled a dream I'd had; Pyramid Head, pressing a hand to his helmet, shaking his head slowly…the sensation of choking on my own blood. No. No…

Suddenly I was convinced that if I didn't move now, if I didn't see what was beyond the curtain, _he _would be standing behind me. He was here. He would kill me.

I reached out and gripped the curtain—belatedly realizing that my hands _were _covered in blood; when had that happened?—and yanked it back in one swift motion. It slid to the side with a quiet hiss.

This bed was completely drenched in blood. The smell of it hit me like a brick wall, leaving me winded. I pressed a hand over my mouth, swallowing bile. Aside from the mess, there was no body, but the breathing continued; it was definitely coming from here.

"James…"

That voice again. Those pleading murmurs. The sound caused me to shiver uncontrollably. Only now did I finally ask myself the question I'd been wondering all along—that voice…was it really Mary, or could it actually be…

"James…" The next utterance came with a choked sob.

The bloodstained sheets were plastered to the mattress, and I could see a small lump beneath them. Though my stomach lurched against it, though my instincts were telling me to run, I still reached out and gripped the edge of one sheet between thumb and forefinger. Then I slowly peeled it back.

Resting in the center of the mattress was a leopard print collar with a gold charm. I felt dizzy. No…no…not _her _again…

But it couldn't be real. She wasn't real. Trying to prove this to myself, I extended one shaking hand towards the collar, waiting for my fingers to go right through it. My fingertips brushed the material and my body rebelled instantly, the pain returning so quickly that I collapsed to the

_(it was the fog the fog oh god I didn't do it please please I didn't see her)_

floor, the collar still clutched in my hand. The material felt almost fleshy. Someone was weeping in the background. The pink light was making me feel even sicker. The pain, the throbbing, the itching feeling—it only continued to worsen until my vision faded, and I knew I was in a place where James could never hear my screams. The collar. What was it about the collar? What was—

_Lying in the road twenty feet away. The clasp had snapped—_

The clasp had snapped? How? From…from the impact? What impact?

I retched but nothing came up. My throat burned unbearably. I wanted to get away from here but I could barely coordinate my movements; everything hurt too much and it felt like some sort of pressure was keeping me down, writhing on the floor in agony.

Then sheer exhaustion caught up with me and I fell still despite the intensity of the pain. My eyes came to rest on that collar once more. Dread washed over me, and with it came a memory, forced upon me in the same way the rest of this had been…

_It had been a strange week, but the weather today was particularly unusual. A blanket of thick white fog covered everything, making the trip home rather difficult as I could barely see the road in front of me. I kept my eyes peeled for the lights of passing cars, though those seemed to be scarce today. Nobody wanted to make the trip with weird weather like this. I didn't blame them; if it hadn't been finals week, I would've skipped school altogether. _

_There had been a time when I had found foggy days amusing, because of what they reminded me of. They didn't come often, and I had enjoyed them. But then one week I'd gone up to visit the folks in Maine—it had been a foggy night, and I'd gotten stuck driving for an hour through the mountains in New Hampshire, catching glimpses of strange shadows and not passing single car the whole way. Ever since then…yeah, foggy days creeped me the hell out._

_So now I drove as quickly as I dared, wanting to get home and indoors as soon as possible. I had the radio tuned to the local rock station, trying to use the music to calm my nerves. It didn't help that I still had some residual anxiety from taking that difficult math exam this morning._

_Suddenly the radio went dead silent as a human shape appeared through the fog. I barely had a second to register it and slam on the brakes before there was a loud thump and something cracked the windshield and the tires squealed, the car swerving before coming to an abrupt halt._

_I had hit someone._

_But they had been standing completely still, hadn't even _tried _to dodge, why, why—_

_When I looked up, I saw blood spatter on the windshield. My heart was pounding but everything else felt numb. Finally I pushed the car door open and got out, circling around to the front of the vehicle and taking note of the huge dent that had been made._

_There was a mangled woman lying on the road in front of the car. She'd been thrown backwards from the force of the impact. Her eyes were open. She was in shock but still breathing._

_Her clothes. Her hair. Her _face.

_I couldn't register it. My eyes wandered up the road. There was a revolver lying on the blacktop. _

_Oh god. I had hit someone with my car. She was going to die. But she couldn't be—those clothes! This couldn't be real! It couldn't be her!_

_Had I just killed someone? Would they think it was my fault for reckless driving? Vehicular manslaughter…god, was I going to go to prison? But it wasn't my fault…this couldn't be really…!_

_The revolver. Why the—?_

_Just past the gun was a familiar pink collar lying on the road. I had hit her hard enough to make that fly off her neck._

_Headlights through the fog. There was a car coming._

_My heart pounded. This one mistake…could it ruin my life forever? Losing my license, being thrown in jail for years on end? But just an hour ago, everything had been fine…no! No, this wasn't happening! This couldn't be happening because _she _wasn't real!_

_The car drew closer. Aside from the faint sound of the engine, I heard the labored breathing of the woman I'd just hit. Maria._

_I ran. And as soon as I did, the fog swallowed me whole._

I came to with a choked gasp. The pain had faded just enough for me to think straight, and now I immediately rolled over and began to dry heave. The next ten minutes were spent in that position. There was nothing left in my stomach, but my body was still trying to rid itself of something. Maybe I was just repulsed by my own cowardice and selfishness.

_Don't play dumb. You're just as guilty as the rest of us._

So that was what Vincent had meant. Had he known all along? But how?

Finally I stopped retching and fell on to my side, deciding that it didn't matter. The fact remained that he had been correct. My eyes fell on Maria's collar, still clutched in one of my hands. What right did I have to get angry at James when I had suppressed memories in much the same way?

Somewhere along the line, the boundary between realities had blurred…and I had been right in the middle of it.

The headlights…Maria must have seen me coming. But still she had stepped in front of the oncoming car. Had she chosen suicide rather than follow the path the town had intended for her? That revolver she had been carrying…

Was that why I was trapped here, filling in her role?

No…I was here because I had run. She had still been alive and I had bolted, not wanting to face the reality of what I had done. I was the worst kind of person.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position. The world spun for a moment before righting itself. For a moment I was disoriented; my surroundings had changed. I was back out in front of the elevator. Its doors were open, spilling a pale light out into the hall. The pink light from earlier was gone. So was the hole in the wall leading to that strange room.

It was dark in here, but the walls were clean. The blood was gone; were things back to the way they were supposed to be?

There was a single key lying in the center of the elevator car. I crawled over, reached out and picked it up. The tag on it was marked '1F Office'. Now I was finally getting somewhere.

Despite the lingering pain, I managed to get to my feet and make my way over to the office door. I dropped Maria's collar on the ground and holstered the handgun on the waistband of my jeans, using both hands to fumble with the key. Eventually I managed to get it in the lock. The door swung open, revealing a nearly pitch black room.

I left the door open to let in some of the scant light from the hallway, and made my way slowly into the room. My ears strained to catch any unusual sounds, but the area seemed to be deserted. Treading carefully, I walked towards the general area of the safe, my hands outstretched. Part of me wondered if I should go back upstairs and retrieve my flashlight first, but I really didn't want to make a second trip down here, whether it was with James or not.

James…

I knew now why the town had called me here. I had gotten myself into this mess; that much I could understand. But even though I understood, even though I wasn't suppressing anything anymore, that pain hadn't gone away. My…my _condition_…it was still there. Why? What _was_ it?

My hand found the cool metal of the safe. I reached into it, fumbling with one hand until I encountered the plastic of the video tape. Mission accomplished. Now all I needed was the music box and I could get out of here.

I exited back out into the hallway, trying to remember where the next open door would be. My memory failed me, so I just rattled doorknobs until one finally worked. The next room had a working light, a dusty hanging bulb that reminded me of the one that had been in my prison cell.

This place looked familiar. According to the map I'd picked up, it was a pantry; the walls were lined with shelves of food. A lot of it was canned. I absentmindedly wondered if anything was safe to eat.

A bag of flour had been overturned, spilling its contents out on to the floor. I had walked in the mess when I entered the room, and now my sneakers left white footprints on the concrete as I explored the area. I saw the scene, made the connection, and let out an absurd little laugh. Was that where the game's loading screen had come from?

My laugh was cut short when a little screech met my ears, and a Creeper scuttled out of the bag. It made a dash for my feet. I gasped a little, instinctively lifting up a shoe and bringing it down. It hit the monster with a loud crunch. Now a big splotch of red painted the flour. When I lifted my foot up again, a hunk of gore stuck to my shoe. I made a face and attempted to wipe it off. My efforts left ugly smears on the concrete.

Now I looked around the room, feeling paranoid. Where there was one, there had to be more…were the Creepers living off the food in here somehow? I didn't want to encounter any more if I didn't have to.

There. Sitting on a shelf right in front of me was the Snow White music box. I let out a breath of relief, reaching out and picking it up. My feeling of relief abruptly died when I realized that now my hands were full; I couldn't fit the video tape or the music box in my pockets. Frowning, I tucked the tape under one arm, and held the music box in that hand. It was an awkward position…but at least this way I could carry the gun. I just couldn't let myself drop the tape. If the video tape was damaged or broken…yeah, I didn't want to find out what would happen then.

I stood in the doorway of the pantry, using the light to examine the map one last time. Take the stairs down a floor…my stomach lurched. The next area would have monsters, I was sure of it. But it was just one hallway, right? And it had only been confusing in the game because of the camera angles. It probably wouldn't even be as cramped in real life. I just had to keep telling myself that. I could handle it, no problem.

Hopefully.

Right…there was something in the boiler room that I needed, but I couldn't remember what. Then it was onward to the bar, and then I could finally get back to James. Only I had to get past the first floor of the hotel without getting mauled by one of those Abstract Daddies first. Fuck, this seemed more difficult the more I thought about it. I needed to stop thinking.

I closed the door to the pantry behind me, not wanting to be followed by any of those bug monsters. Then I made a beeline for the door to the stairwell, gripping the handgun tightly with one hand. Ten rounds…and I didn't know if anything would be lying in wait in the other parts of the hotel, either. I had to make these bullets count. Dodge monsters if it was possible.

The stairway was lit with a single dim fluorescent. I descended into the basement, pausing and taking a deep breath at the door I encountered.

I still didn't know what was causing my condition or when it would act up again. That meant I had to move quickly and get this over with. The longer I didn't have James around to watch my back, the more vulnerable I would become.

Steeling my resolve, I pushed the door open. A pitch dark hallway was revealed. Fuck.

I held up the gun, my finger resting lightly on the trigger, and began taking small steps forward. Had the hallway been this dark in the game? I didn't like this at all.

No suspicious noises met my ears, so I pressed onward, moving slowly. The light from the stairwell didn't help me for long; soon I was feeling my way along the walls again. My heartbeat began to escalate. This reminded me too much of my blind Otherworld run. This wasn't normal darkness; my eyes wouldn't even adjust.

As I continued down the hall, a rumbling, mechanical noise caught my attention. My uneasiness grew. All I wanted to do was turn back and hide in the safe stairwell, but I had been stuck in this hell long enough to be able to resist those irrational urges. Pressing onward could get me killed, but hiding in one spot was something I knew _would _get me killed.

Finally, my hand encountered a doorknob and I hastily turned it. When I saw light_, _revealing the boiler room I'd been searching for, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. And I had to mentally smack myself for my stupidity—this was the mechanical noise I'd been hearing. Of course; the boiler was pretty loud, that much I remembered.

There was a fluorescent light in here too, which led me to wonder why there weren't any lights in the damn hall. As I entered the room, I shut the door behind me, not wanting to draw any monsters into this one safe area. Okay, what the hell was in here…

No handgun bullets, and no flashlight, of course. There would be no lucky breaks for me here.

My eyes were eventually drawn to a metallic shine on the floor—there. A key. I bent over, picking it up and examining the tag. It was labeled 'Venus Tears'. The bar…oh, right. I remembered now. The bar key…though I wouldn't be able to _see _the damn keyhole well enough to insert the key, which meant I'd have to search for canned light bulbs or some shit…god, I'd had enough of this place.

The key went into my pocket and I went back out into the hallway. Again, the light coming from the boiler room only served to help me for a short period of time before the pitch darkness swallowed me up again. And with this sudden and complete absence of light, the hallway seemed much longer than it should have been.

I didn't even know if I was supposed to be turning any corners or searching for any particular door. I just kept walking straight, the gun extended. Hopefully it would encounter a wall rather than a monster. When the throbbing in my gut intensified, I walked a little faster.

"James…"

Fuck. _Fuck!_

The quiet sob paralyzed me, and I frantically tried to pinpoint its location. Then I felt something brush my arm—fingertips.

"_No!" _I yelled before I could stop myself, swinging one arm out and clubbing the monster with the gun as hard as I could. I received a feminine wail for my efforts.

"Jaaaames!" Maria's voice. Oh, god. _Her. Her._

I fought to keep a grip on the items I'd picked up, all while fending off whatever it was. When I thrust the gun out and met resistance, I pulled the trigger. There was a flash and a muffled _thuk—_the same sound from when Eddie had been shot in the stomach, oh—and another wail. I felt sick. The throbbing in my gut had suddenly worsened at the worst possible moment, my knees going weak. I stumbled backwards and turned around, intending to run, to get away.

There were more of them. Whispers and sobs coming from all around me, all calling for James, James, _James—_the sound of that _name _over and over again caused me to let out a scream of terror and desperate frustration, and I beat viciously at any fleshy being I encountered in that hall. Anything to get them away. To stop them from reaching out to me, from touching me and attempting to draw me closer to them.

Then finally there came a point when I brought the gun down and it hit metal with a loud clang.

Metal.

Muffled, hollow breathing.

My mouth dropped open but my sudden intense fear had frozen my voice, and no sound came out. It couldn't be. Not here.

I ran. Through the darkness, I ran, and I was chased by the unknown.

I found the next door by hitting it head on. Though I miraculously managed to avoid a broken nose, I did spend the next few seconds in a dazed heap on the floor. But I wouldn't let myself stay like that, not when I knew what might be in here with me. I stumbled to my feet again and holstered the gun, using my free hand to turn the doorknob.

I burst out of the hallway and into a kitchen, slamming the door behind me. Then I quickly turned to face it, hyperventilating and finally collapsing on to the tile floor. The video tape and the music box fell at my side. I aimed the gun at the door and let out choked sobs, remaining like that for as long as I dared. Everything hurt.

Thankfully, the kitchen was dimly lit. It wasn't much, but it was still a nice change from the darkness of the hallway.

Could it have really been…? I hadn't seen him, but what I had _felt..._what I had heard…

I didn't want to dwell on the thought that I could have been followed.

Trembling fiercely, I got to my feet and stumbled over to the counter. Then I pulled the Swiss Army Knife out of my pocket and got to work, using it to open the first unlabeled can I found. It was full of light bulbs. I let out an exhausted sigh and took one, then gathered up the rest of my things as well as I could and pushed through the next door.

The bar was lit by neon lights, in much the same way Heaven's Night had been. I dropped the tape and the music box on the bar, heading over to the lamp I saw and screwing in the light bulb. It lit up in an instant, causing some of the shadows in the room to retreat.

Okay…I had the key to unlock that door. But there would probably be more monsters out there…and I had to pick up that can of thinner, too, now that I thought about it. Not only that, we'd missed that other music box that was supposed to be out in the front yard of the hotel. I couldn't carry all that…which meant I'd have to head upstairs and get my bag before making a second trip. Unless I wanted to find James first and somehow try to lead him to the right places. I had a feeling the first option would be faster, though both seemed equally frustrating, scary and difficult. There was no telling what I'd encounter.

I was so _tired._ And I didn't even know if…if _he _was really following me…if he was, could I afford to rest?

I would run if I heard something coming. But right now…right now, I needed to stop and let myself _breathe._ I took a seat at the bar, put my head in my hands, and listened to the pounding of my own heart.

My muscles ached. The bullet graze on my leg was stinging fiercely; it hadn't had a single chance to heal since I'd received it, and it was probably going to get infected at some point. And something inside me writhed and throbbed, giving me horrible itching sensations beneath my skin. I raked my nails lightly down one arm, wincing when I encountered the bandages from earlier under my sleeve.

Fuck…I needed to find James…everything would be okay if I could just find—

No, I needed to rest and gather my bearings while I had the chance.

Slowing my frenzied thought process was extremely difficult. I laid my head down on the counter, taking comfort from the feeling of the cool wood on my skin. But I couldn't let myself fall asleep this time around; I had a feeling I'd wake up to something a lot worse than last time. If I woke up at all.

After a few minutes of slow, deep breathing, I finally sat up again. Though I still physically felt like crap, at least I felt a little more rational. Nothing had come through the door behind the bar while I sat there; now I had a feeling it was safe to say I was no longer being followed. And even if I was, they didn't seem to feel like making an appearance anytime soon, anyway. I wasn't in any imminent danger so I didn't have to feel so panicked.

That damn painful throbbing inside me, though…no amount of rest seemed to get rid of it. It felt like…almost like…

"What the hell…?" I whispered. I had been staring absently at the back of my left hand, and now I noticed something. Was that a lump? No…a tiny little bump, like a bug bite. But it _wasn't_ a bug bite. What was it? Did it just move?

My brow furrowed, and I reached out with my other hand, picking at it with a fingernail. My efforts didn't seem to do anything. I leaned forward a little, moving more into the light to get a better look, and picked harder.

"Ouch," I hissed. I had accidentally drawn blood.

Frustrated, I wiped the blood away with my sleeve, and resisted the urge to keep working at it. Whatever it was, picking at it obviously wasn't going to make it better. God, I was really fucked up…

I decided at that point that now would be the best time to get going. Besides, James would get worried if I took too long. So I pulled the bar key out of my pocket, walked over to the door, and put it in the lock. It turned easily and emitted a small click. There…unlocked.

Once I had grabbed the things I needed, I lifted the handgun with my free hand and pushed through the door. Immediately I held the gun out at the darkness, my finger resting on the trigger.

Nothing responded to the sudden movement. So far, so good.

A dim light to my right caught my attention. The elevator…jeez, were elevators the only reliably lit things around here?

Hold on…it was empty. The doors were open, and it was empty. I walked over to the elevator car, confused. But the can of thinner was supposed to be here, wasn't it?

There was a circle in the floor of the car where dust hadn't collected. Something _had _been sitting there, but it had been moved from the spot. James must have beaten me here. Then that meant…

When I turned and walked down the hallway a bit, I encountered several bloody monster corpses. Yeah, he'd definitely been here. Guess that saved me a bit of trouble, then.

But it looked like a few other monsters had moved in since he'd left, because I was sure I had just seen movement in my peripheral. I didn't want to stick around to see just what it was. Casting one final quick glance over my shoulder, I bolted down the hall, towards where I knew the stairs were.

* * *

Somehow, despite the almost complete darkness, I managed to find the doors leading outside. And they were open.

Now I sat on the hotel's front lawn, leaning my back against a lamp post and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of grass under my fingers. It just felt so…_normal. _Alive. It was like a connection to the living world that even the town hadn't been able to sever.

I had found the Little Mermaid music box easily enough, sitting in plain view on the edge of one of the fountains. I would've pointed it out to James earlier, but he wouldn't have known we needed it then. Either way, now I had two of the music boxes, and James was well on his way to getting the third. That meant when we met up, we could get the hotel stairway key…and then we'd watch the video tape.

I wasn't going to delude myself—the whole reason I was relaxing out here wasn't just because it was safely outside the hotel. It was because I didn't want to go through with it. Part of me wanted to believe that I could avoid being slaughtered by…by _them, _because I would be with James when Maria hadn't been. But I knew that wouldn't be the case. Up until this point, I had been filling Maria's role almost perfectly. I had to face the harsh truth—that another death scene was coming soon. And I didn't know how I was going to avoid this one.

Somehow, I felt that this time I really _was _going to be killed. Was that why Pyramid Head had spared me back in Brookhaven? Because I was supposed to last until now? If so, then there was no reason why I should survive this time. I had filled Maria's role…I had served my purpose.

But that wasn't _fair! _Wasn't everything I had been through punishment enough? It wasn't like I had intentionally killed her! Running from the scene had been my sin. Selfishness, yes, cowardice, yes, but not malicious intent…so why was it that _James _had the opportunity to walk away from this if he learned his lesson, but not me?

Maybe I did have an opportunity, and I just didn't see it…

I put my head in my hands. Just what the hell was I supposed to do? Run away from this place? But with this sickness, I wouldn't last long…even I could tell it was just going to get worse with time.

_Those who walk in shadows_

_walk with Death._

What did that _mean?_ Back then, in my own personal labyrinth…had that been when it all really started? Was that some sort of warning I had failed to follow? Shadows…

_You think this is some sort of game, don't you? Following him around like_

"Shut up, Vincent," I whispered through gritted teeth. Part of me wished I'd never met the guy to begin with; his ambiguous words never stopped haunting me. Some sort of game…had he _known?_ Well, even if he had, it wasn't like he'd ever tell me a damn thing anyway. Clear answers were too much to ask for around here.

Finally I forced myself back to my feet, reluctantly heading back into the hotel. The doors groaned shut behind me, leaving me in darkness once more. I held a music box in each hand, the tape tucked under one arm. Now I had no free hands.

I didn't linger. I made a beeline for the stairs, trying my hardest not to trip as I went up. The second floor hallway was a little better lit—some pale light filtered in from the windows. Now that I was able to see a bit better, I relaxed, moving at a less frantic pace. The less noise I made, the better.

I was about to head directly for the employee elevator room, but then I had another thought. Hey, the Reading Room was safe enough, right? Safe and enclosed, where nothing could pounce on me out of the blue. I didn't like walking around with all this crap; I felt too vulnerable. I could see the door to that room from where I was standing…why not just drop off the music boxes and the tape there, and then run to get my things?

The employee elevator was just through a few other doors, but my experience down on the first floor had taught me that what seemed like a short distance could change drastically. Especially if you were defenseless.

Okay, it was decided. I walked down the hall, finding the door to the room and pushing it open. I was relieved to find that the place hadn't changed since the last time I'd been in here. Maybe it was a small comfort, but it was a comfort all the same.

I walked over to desk near the window, and placed the tape and the music boxes down on it. Whew…it felt a lot better not to be carrying those things. The weight of the gun at my hip made me feel better, and I let out a relieved little sigh. Now I stood a much better chance at defending myself. All I had to do was find James…

Part of me wanted to try hiding Crimson Ceremony better while I was in here, but my stomach recoiled at the thought of touching that horrible book again. Hadn't it made me kind of crazy last time? Whatever this sickness was, touching anything related to The Order seemed to just exacerbate it. Not a huge surprise, considering how everything bad in this town seemed to trace back to that damn cult.

Now that I was thinking about it, though, I couldn't even find the red spine of Crimson Ceremony on the bookshelves. It was probably just blending in—there _were_ a lot of books—but hadn't it been a little too noticeable for comfort last time? James hadn't taken it…had he? No, he wouldn't have dared after my reaction to it.

Troubled, I tried to tear my thoughts away from the book. While my eyes wandered the room, they finally came to rest on the sole table, the one that had been piled with books when we came in before. Hmm…the chair had been moved, and a lot of the books had been placed on the floor. Actually, it looked like a lot of things on the table had been moved around. So James _had _been in here.

There was one open book on the desk. It seemed to be some sort of plant encyclopedia, if the black and white illustrations on one page were anything to go by. Hold on…no, judging from all these complicated medical terms, maybe it was something pharmaceutical…

I leaned forward, frowning as my eyes roved over the page. The book was very old looking, and parts of the text were too damaged for me to make out.

_**[…tis] **__…derived from the aforementioned Wh…dia, …._

I grimaced. This was ridiculous—had James really been sifting through this? What for? I couldn't even see what that bolded term was supposed to be, but I had a feeling the other stuff was a definition or description of some sort. Skipping over a section that was completely illegible, I read on.

…_It is a viscous liquid, red…color, and is…adminis…remedy…illnesses for which the cause is not kn…_

I leaned closer, becoming more and more engrossed in the text until a sudden noise caused me to jump. The doorknob was turning. Someone was coming?

At that moment, something else abruptly caught my attention—the vial sitting on the table next to that open book. Wait a second, that was…

I picked it up, examining the label on the front. _Ipomoea lacunosa extract._ This was the vial I had found…had James gone through my things and taken this? What else would it be doing here?

"Brittany?"

James' voice. My head snapped up. He was closing the door behind him, wearing an expression of relief. I had to smile—despite the strangeness of what I had found, I couldn't stop myself from feeling glad at the sight of him.

"Hey. I'm alive."

"I'm glad." He weakly returned the smile, but then his eyes fell on the vial in my hands.

I held it up to him. "So…what's this doing here?"

He took it, staring at the label and the contents for a moment, and guiltily looked away. "Sorry. I was just…seeing if I could figure out what it was. That's all."

"Oh," I said, still a little perplexed. I didn't miss the way he pocketed the vial rather than handing it back to me. Part of me wanted to call him out on it, but why bother? If he could find a use for it, he was more than welcome. It wasn't like it had been doing anything but gathering dust in my bag.

"So did you find anything down there?" He immediately changed the subject, walking closer.

I nodded, moving over to the desk on the other side of the bookcase. "A couple things we need, I think. Oh, and that video tape, too."

"The tape, huh…"

When I turned around, he was already walking over to me. The book that had been open on the table was gone. I almost called him out on that, too. Just what the hell had James been up to while I was gone? I didn't like his evasiveness, either.

There was no time to dwell on those thoughts, though. He was already taking the video tape I'd held out to him, examining it. His eyebrows drew together.

"…It's the same one. That's my handwriting on the front. I can't believe it…"

"What's on it? Do you remember?" I asked, just because it seemed like the next logical question.

James frowned. "I…I don't know. I remember taping different parts of our vacation, but…nothing overly significant. Am I…forgetting something…?"

"Can't hurt to just watch it," I said with a shrug.

James closed his eyes, nodding. "Yeah…" Then he glanced over to the two music boxes I'd collected. "I found the third one. Let's get your things. Then we can go to the lobby and see what we can do."

"Got it," I agreed, feeling too tired to stall. Well, it looked like things were finally coming to a close…and I still had no idea how I was going to survive.

As we made our way back out into the hall, I tried my hardest to ignore the slowly growing pain I felt within me.

* * *

**A/N: So now you know _why _our dear main character is stuck in the town, as well as how it came about. And, y'know, hopefully it wasn't a jump the shark moment. XD this is a self-insert...so I wanted the main character's sin to be something I could imagine myself doing.**

**ANYWAY, I'm not gonna ramble on about that too much. I thought about this whole thing for _ages_ and never could come up with one good reason that seemed perfect to me, so I did my best with what I could come up with. Feel free to be completely honest with me in your reviews, too. XD**

**I think next chapter will be the last one before the endings. Still trying to decide whether the endings should include the final battle or not...I want to have variations of what happens before and after it, like in the game, but I really don't feel like copy-and-pasting the same stuff for certain parts of the chapter. Oh well...I haven't planned out all of the endings completely yet anyway.**

**Also, yes, I am considering a sequel...because it's hard for me to give up writing stories that I love so much. XD I had some ideas for a SH3-based story...but what do you guys think? I'm also pretty open to a SH4 story too, since that game has grown on me lately. I want to do something cult-involved. :D SH3 would be fun, since OC Brit _has _already met Vincent, after all.**

**EDIT: I'm curious, so I added a poll on my profile. ;D SH3 or SH4? Tell me what you think.**

**Long author's note is long. Okay, I'm done. Go review, because that's what awesome people do! :D**

**Next time: Are you taping again? Come on.**


	17. Finale

**A/N: Godddd sorry this took so long. Computer/internet troubles were the main issue this time around. That and I've been pretty busy with some irl things, such as working full-time and buying a car (DUDE I HAVE A SEXY CAR NOW YAAAAY BILLS) and it's been kinda hard to concentrate on writing. Now that I've adjusted a bit to my new lifestyle, though, I've been able to finish this chapter! :D**

**Whew...don't even know what else to say here, haha. Just enjoy the chapter. I tried.**

**Disclaimer: [insert awesome disclaimer here]**

* * *

Time seemed to go by too quickly after that. Conveniently enough, once we left the Reading Room, no monsters came to hinder our progress. The hotel was ominously silent; the air remained heavy as ever. The tension was becoming so thick that it felt almost like a lingering physical presence. I followed after James, not uttering a word; at this point I was far too consumed with my own thoughts.

We went and retrieved my things from the employee elevator room. Everything was present and accounted for, and I absentmindedly reloaded it all into my bag before we set off again. I was glad to have the flashlight and the pipe again, but it was a small comfort in the face of what was coming.

After getting my things, we headed down the hall and into the lobby. My head was swimming; the pain was peaking and subsiding more frequently now. James didn't notice because I made a conscious effort to hide it. There was no point in stopping to rest if we were only postponing the inevitable. I'd already stalled enough.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, though, I did end up sitting down while James fiddled with the music boxes we had gathered. The inscriptions were simple enough, if a little morbid; he could figure out which box went where on his own.

He didn't even seem to notice when I made my way over to one of the chairs in the corner of the lobby. The music box puzzle had his full attention, of course, because the key to the third floor was now within reach. He was only thinking of Mary now.

What the hell was he expecting to _find, _anyway? James knew in his heart that Mary was dead. But still he kept pressing onward…all for a woman that was long gone. And he was the reason she was gone in the first place.

So absorbed in his task. No wonder Mary was dead; he didn't appreciate people who were still _alive, _like me. Now my condition was just getting worse and worse. Why had it come to this? He was supposed to _protect _me! All he ever cared about was—

My thoughts abruptly came to a halt, and I got a chill. Why did something about this seem…?

But it was true. He was so distant. I hated it when he was distant.

My head was throbbing. I reached up sluggishly, about to press a palm to my forehead, when I noticed something amiss. Something felt off…my body itching…beneath the skin…

I rolled one of my sleeves up and stared at my bandaged arm. It had started bleeding again, even though the scratches should have closed up a while ago. There was something…by my wrist. Under the skin. Moving.

Feeling nauseous, I lightly touched the lump with one finger. It squirmed. The pain in my body escalated, and my eyes began to water. I saw more movement under my skin. Something inside of me…something horrible…

The thing on my wrist began to move up my arm. A sense of panic suddenly gripped me; what would happen if it went deeper into my body? What if it hit my heart? What the hell _was _it?

I wouldn't let this thing kill me. Before I even registered what was happening, I had reached into my pocket, pulling out the Swiss Army knife. In the next moment the blade was cutting into my skin, following the bump. Blood spilled out of my arm and on to the carpet. Every time I tried to cut out the thing, though, it squirmed away—but it was in there. I saw it moving. God, what else was inside of me? Was this why I felt so sick? What had this town _done _to me?

I reached two fingers into the long gash I had created and attempted to pry out whatever was in there. The pain was exquisite and my vision went red for a moment, but in my determination I pushed all of it away. It was nothing, nothing compared to the incessant throbbing of my condition, nothing compared to seeing some sort of…of _parasite_ invading the area just beneath my skin.

My breathing grew ragged. Why…why wouldn't it come out…why—

"Brittany? What are you—_Brittany! Stop!"_

James' voice sounded far away enough for me to ignore it. But there really was a lot of blood…

Suddenly there was someone beside me and he was grabbing at my wrists, attempting to pry the blade out of my hands. My wounded arm practically screamed with pain at this new development, but I still resisted.

"James—stop it, it's almost out, there's something _there _I have to get it—"

"Let go of the knife! Don't you see what you're doing to yourself?"

Finally he wrenched it out my grip, backing away a step and staring down at me as the room abruptly fell dead silent. He was left clutching a bloody knife and I was holding my arm, noticing now that the gash was a lot worse than it had seemed when I'd first cut it.

The blond was watching me with a strange mixture of concern and horror. It was clear that he wanted an explanation, and so I fumbled for one.

"There's something under my skin," I tried to tell him, but now I just felt more confused than urgent. "It…it was…"

Now I looked down at my wounded arm. I couldn't see anything under the skin. The itching sensation was gone, and it didn't look like there was anything out of the ordinary at all—except, of course, the enormous cut I had made that was now gushing blood.

"…It was there," I finished helplessly, staring at my injury. There had been something there…right? Why had I just…had I really just cut myself open? Suddenly my actions seemed a lot less sane than they had a moment ago.

James just shook his head and pulled a roll of bandages out of his bag. "Let me see."

I didn't resist. My arm looked really bad now; it was going to need stitches when this was over with. Maybe a lot of them. Jesus Christ…

He took some gauze and managed to clear away some of the blood, though it was coming too fast for him to keep up. James immediately began to dress the wound before I lost too much. I just watched him, feeling lost and confused and wanting to cry. Something was wrong here…something was really wrong.

No one spoke while James bandaged up the injury. He was pale faced and completely silent as he worked, and I could tell that I had really shaken him. Again.

"James…I…" I broke off when tears threatened to come, and lowered my gaze so I could hide it.

He didn't respond, just sparing me a single glance. I took that as permission to continue. Not that anything I could say now would ever erase my actions.

"I don't know why I did that," I whispered. "I'm sick. I'm really sick."

"Don't say that," he murmured. "It's going to be okay."

Even now, he still insisted on repeating those lies? Even after what he'd seen me do? A wave of black resentment washed over me for a moment, and then it was gone and I was left with nothing but self-disgust.

When I failed to reply, James drew up to his full height and once again moved over to where he'd left the music boxes. This time I saw him continually glance in my direction as he wiped off the knife and retracted it. I knew once it entered his pocket that I wouldn't be seeing it again. I was a danger to myself now…but where could he draw the line? Would he take away my gun, too?

Finally he placed all of the music boxes in the correct spots, and the larger one began to play. The haunting melody echoed throughout the room. I closed my eyes; it was exactly the same tune I remembered.

"…This is the key," James said over the music. I heard the sound of his footsteps approaching. "The one for the grate on the stairwell."

I pulled my sleeve down over my bandaged arm, rubbing it a little. As my eyes ran over the large bloodstain on the carpet in front of me, I felt the sudden urge to cry. I didn't know what was going on anymore. Maybe I could avoid the final death scene, but what then? How could I change the fact that I was completely losing it, that I was so sick I was hallucinating and cutting myself up?

"Do you need to rest for another minute?" he asked, more gently this time. "Are you dizzy?"

I answered by forcing myself to my feet. "…I'll be fine. Let's…let's just finish this."

James watched me for another second before nodding. "All right."

The music continued to echo around us even as we trudged up the grand staircase, making our way to the third floor stairway. So close…and I still couldn't see how I would avoid death. Part of me longed for that moment when I exhaled my last dying breath; at least then I would know it was over. At least then I wouldn't have to endure this torture, this downward spiral of insanity.

* * *

My legs felt weighted with lead as we made our way up to the grate blocking the third floor. James inserted the key into the lock and it turned with a quiet click. Then he reached up, sliding the grate aside…and we were finally past everything. Every wild goose chase, every puzzle, every dilapidated building. Everything except the painful conclusion.

"Hey…James."

"Hm?" We were still standing at the top of the stairs; he turned to look at me.

"Um…" I averted my gaze. I still didn't know what I wanted to say…but now that everything seemed to be going so fast, I felt like I should say _something. _"I just…well…thanks. For everything."

He gave me a perplexed frown. "You…you don't have to thank me. You helped me too, you know."

"Heh," I smiled slightly, skeptical. "Sure I did."

"Well, this isn't over yet," he told me. "So don't start saying goodbye."

My smile thinned. I had to look away again so he wouldn't see the way I was holding back tears. "Yeah."

"…Let's go." James didn't waste any time; before I knew it, we were standing in front of the door to room 312.

The key turned in the lock, and the door swung open quietly. We stepped into the room…and it was like entering a different world.

The air in here was different. The rest of the hotel had practically bled tension and discomfort; entering this room made me feel like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. My condition didn't fade, but some of my nausea and dizziness did. Still, though, I felt uneasy. This didn't feel like a safe haven; it felt like the eye of the storm.

Lakeview Hotel looked normal on the surface, but there was something jarring about how deserted it was, as if everyone had vanished without any warning at all. In this room…the normality was almost believable. If not for the fog visible through the expansive windows at the back of the room, I was sure James would've felt as if he'd stepped back in time.

His stride into the room was slow, halting. The lost look was back on his face; his eyes had misted over. I knew it would take a moment for him to remember himself, so I examined the room while I waited.

In any other resort town, I would've been very happy to stay in a room like this. It was well-decorated, a lot less generic looking than the chain hotel rooms I was so accustomed to staying in. The bed on the wall to my left was large, comfortable looking, and neatly made. Along the right wall, a sofa and armchair faced each other, a coffee table placed between them on an embroidered rug.

My eyes finally fell on the television. It was a pretty old model, something similar to the TV my family had had back in the early nineties—back in my early childhood. Sitting on the floor next to the television was a VCR, something that was also pretty outdated. Who even used VHS tapes anymore? Well, at least James wouldn't have to bother rewinding this one when he was done with it. I had a feeling he wouldn't be too keen on ever watching it again.

"…Mary's not here."

The words came, subdued and quiet. I turned to see James staring out at the fog just beyond those windows, his eyes dark.

"Did you think she would be?" I asked before I could stop myself. I didn't know why—every time he got that look on his face, thinking of Mary, I just felt spiteful. He just didn't see how stupid, how futile, how _pointless _this all was. If not for him, I wouldn't have been in this—

"I…I don't know."

That was all he ever said. He didn't know a damn thing, apparently.

"You thought she'd just be sitting on the bed, waiting for you, huh?" I smiled thinly. "'Oh hey James, I never really died, ha-ha, didn't you get the memo?'"

"I…"

My smile fell. He wasn't even getting _mad, _and by all rights, he could've slapped me just then and I would've deserved it. But wait, why was I even trying? Why was his lack of a response just making me angrier?

I was going to die and all I could think of to do was lash out at the only person I had left. There really _was _something wrong with me.

"…I'm sorry," I murmured, clenching my fists. "I'm sorry, I'm just…just so…"

James finally looked up, and his face cleared a little. "…She's not here. But we still have the tape…maybe that's what she meant. Maybe the tape is what I was supposed to see all along."

He took it out, staring at it for a moment. I tried to quell my own confusing emotions long enough to set things in motion again.

"There's a VCR right there. We might as well use it."

After a moment, James nodded. He set the tape down on top of the TV, and then went about moving the nearby armchair so that it sat directly in front of the screen. I walked over to the desk next to the bed, pulling the chair out there and setting it next to the armchair. As the blond turned on the television and crouched down to insert the tape, I took a seat.

Well, 'took a seat' isn't exactly an adequate description. My legs just gave out beneath me and I was lucky enough to have a chair to break my fall. All of this anticipation was giving me the shakes. Everything would be done with soon. If I could just get out of this town…

It didn't matter if my sickness killed me afterwards. I just didn't want to die in Silent Hill. I wanted to see sunlight again, the blue sky, hear birds chirping and cars passing me by…

The tape slid into the VCR. James backed up and sank into the armchair, leaning forward slightly with his elbows on his knees. The two of us fell completely silent as the static on the television screen abruptly cleared.

"_Are you taping again? C'mon…"_

Mary. Young, pretty, and modestly dressed, she was just as I remembered her—and yet completely different. Like James, she was real, no longer an image or an actress. She smiled, rolling her eyes and waving a hand at James as she walked past him.

She sighed, turning her back to him and sitting down in a chair facing the window. Precisely the same chair I was sitting in now, I realized with a slight chill.

"_I don't know why, but I just love it here. It's so peaceful." _ She put a hand to her chin, looking outside—the sunlight was bright enough that it was impossible to see on the tape what was beyond the window. Hell of a lot different from what I was used to.

Mary turned to look at the camera again, smiling. _"You know what I heard? This whole area used to be a sacred place. I think I can see why…it's too bad we have to leave."_

It was hard to believe anyone had been able to see this town in a positive light, but as I watched the tape, I began to understand. It was like this hotel…it _looked _convincingly normal on the surface. If there was a populated, functioning Silent Hill on some other plane of reality separate from this place and the Otherworld…maybe it was a nice place. If you were vacationing there. Of course, Silent Hill's few permanent residents might have another story to tell.

"_Please promise you'll take me again, James."_ Mary stood up, pausing to cover her mouth as she began to cough. There was a deep quality to her coughs that didn't sound quite right. After a few seconds, they worsened enough for her to turn away.

The camera angle tilted suddenly before settling again; it occurred to me that James had set the camera down at that point in order to approach her. The image had become too blurry to tell. The sound faded out into a dull, quiet static, and at that moment it almost seemed as if the tape was coming to an end.

Then, like flipping a switch, the picture abruptly cleared. The television displayed a barely conscious Mary, lying on a bed—but was that really _her?_ The sweet woman from the earlier part of the tape, who had smiled so softly and lovingly at the man holding the camera?

The difference was shocking. This Mary was skin and bones, her feminine figure stolen away by the effects of the illness. Her skin was pasty and it had a sickly, almost yellow tinge. Open sores covered her face, her neck. Her lips were cracked and chapped. And her hair—what was left of it—was messy, stringy, stuck together in some places…

She was a shell of her former self. I never knew her, but I could tell just from the defeated look to her. The disease took everything.

I had been absentmindedly rubbing my wounded arm; now I forced myself to stop. A sickness without a cure…slowly getting worse and worse…all this time, I'd been feeling less and less like myself. Like my sanity was slipping away. I didn't know what was real anymore, and all the while the pain just continued to escalate, until I was lashing out without knowing why, until I was cutting myself open without a second thought…

Was this how Mary had felt?

I felt a wave of sadness for the woman. Hers had been a much, much slower process than mine. Why did the world have to be so damn cruel? She hadn't even _done _anything. Well…wherever she was now, at least it had to be better than here.

James came into the picture. Suddenly I felt sick, because I knew what was coming, and now I was here and I couldn't just look away.

He leaned down and kissed his wife gently on the forehead. She stirred a little, her lips moving, probably saying his name. He was pulling the pillow out from under her head. He was

_(oh god I don't want to see don't make me look don't make me)_

pressing the pillow down over her face. At first she was still dazed, still half-conscious, but finally she seemed to understand that this wasn't a dream and _her husband was killing her._

Limbs flailed. She clawed at his hands, his arms, using every last bit of her remaining energy in a feeble attempt to survive. But she was too weak, too sick, to push him away. Mary had been clinging to life by a thread and James had cut it.

His patience in taking her life was terrifying. He wasn't rough, but he kept steady pressure on the pillow, enduring his wife's frantic struggles.

The process seemed to take forever. It was agonizing to watch; as I saw her movements begin to slow, I knew I was watching someone die, and I finally had to look away. I pressed my hands to my face and fought the violent urge to throw up.

This wasn't like what had happened with Eddie. Somehow this was worse. It hadn't been self-defense—Mary had been so…so _helpless._ After fighting against the illness for so long, in the end it had all been for nothing. It was unfair that she had gotten so sick, but it was even more unfair that her life had been stolen from her by the person she trusted the most. Too weak to say no. Too weak to push him away. She probably died afraid, feeling confused and betrayed and terribly alone…

I didn't know what to think anymore. I just knew that I felt nauseous and I wanted to cry or scream or both.

The tape had ended. Next to me, James was completely still. He was staring at the floor. His face was unreadable—not because it was lacking in emotion, but because I saw so many conflicting emotions there I couldn't decide which was dominant. Pain, sadness, regret, longing…

Despite this, despite knowing he _understood _now, I found it difficult to look at him. I had been aware of this all along—but seeing it, oh god, seeing it was an entirely different story. Why the _fuck _had I followed this man in the first place?

He had killed her. _Murdered _her. Nothing, no reason or excuse, could really justify that. He had taken a human life—the life of someone who had loved him unconditionally. He should've placed her well-being above his own.

Christ…this was so…

Who _was _this man?

What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to say to him?

The room was suddenly stifling. I was going to throw up. I felt it coming and stood up, turning away from him and stumbling towards the door. I realized that I was afraid of him—afraid of this brooding man, calm in the face of danger, in the face of the dying.

He didn't say a word to stop me as I left the room.

I stumbled down the hall a ways before finding myself unable to hold it in any longer; I fell to my knees and vomited the remains of what was in my stomach. My head was pounding and each heave made the edges of my vision darken a little. At some point I began to cry.

James…James was my friend…he had saved my life several times, he

_(left me behind at the hospital disappointed to see me took my knife uneasy around me wouldn't touch me wouldn't touch me WOULDN'TTOUCHME)_

had been by my side all this time…but could I look at him the same now? Could I ever? What should I do? Oh, god…

Belatedly I realized the carpet under my hands and knees was wet, spongy. I looked up, wiping my mouth, and suddenly felt nauseous all over again. Everything was charred, destroyed by both fire and water damage—this was the real Lakeview Hotel. Water dripped from the ceiling. The wallpaper was peeling.

No…this was too different. I hadn't been paying attention as I had stumbled away from room 312, but I knew I hadn't gone that far. But this wasn't the third floor. In fact, I didn't know _where _it was.

My blood just about froze in my veins when I realized just how big of a mistake I had made. I had left behind not only the pipe, but my handbag—the flashlight, first-aid kits, bullets, all gone. I was back down to just the gun…and ten rounds.

Where was I? The first thing I did after getting to my feet was take a few uncertain steps forward. Everything around me was too deteriorated; even though I'd had the entire place memorized before, now I couldn't tell right from left. This was…some kind of hallway. Second floor? Maybe…

I took another step, then paused. Even if I knew where I was, where did I intend to go? Back to James? What good had following him ever _really _done me? Walking in his

_(walk with shadows walk with death)_

shadow all this time, tagging along—_he _had never saved me from the things I had known were coming. Leaving me behind at Brookhaven, leaving me alone in the jail cell, always leaving, leaving, leaving…

What, then? Could I even leave the hotel? I didn't know.

I began to walk aimlessly, very aware of the ever-worsening pain within me. This was wrong…this was all wrong.

The humid, dank air in the hallway dried out as I continued onward, until suddenly it began to feel too warm. Much, much too warm.

_The burning staircase._

A thought came to me, and I paused to look around. I didn't see any fire, but it was hot in here. Finally I reached out and touched the nearest doorknob—and yanked my hand back with a hiss. It had burned me. When I touched the wood of the door, it felt warm. In that room…?

"A-Ah…" A choked sob met my ears, causing me to tense up immediately. No, not _her, _anyone but—

It wasn't Maria or any of those strange monsters that had been following me when I was alone. Sitting against the wall up ahead, her face pressed into her knees, was Angela. She was crying, her body shaking uncontrollably.

There was nowhere else to go, and I wasn't about to just walk away. I was still dizzy and upset and my throat was burning, but I approached her nonetheless.

"Mama?" Her head shot up at the sound of my footsteps. She had barely gotten a good look at me before she jolted to her feet and threw her arms around me—I stumbled backwards from the sudden weight I was supporting.

"Mama!" She wept. "I've been looking for you…s-so long…"

I had never met this girl, had never even had the opportunity to introduce myself, but I found myself hugging her back. She was going to die soon, too, if things went the way I thought they would. Was it so wrong for someone to crave comfort in their last moments? If she wanted to think she had finally found her mother, then I would allow her that happiness…if only for a moment.

"Angela…" I mumbled, feeling tears sting at my own eyes. Despair…this was what true despair felt like.

"P-Please forgive me," the girl whispered, trembling. "I didn't mean to, I…Mama, I'm so scared…I don't want to be alone…not anymore…"

I didn't know what to say. I just let her cry, feeling the burning heat all around us, wondering just what she was seeing that I couldn't. It was wrong. All of this was wrong and unfair and I wanted to go home, I just wanted to see _my _mother again and know that everything was going to be okay and—

"You're not…" Her embrace slackened as she finally realized her mistake. But she didn't move away. "I'm…I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," I said quietly. "I'm sorry too."

She was silent for a moment, pulling away a bit, her body still shaking. Then she nodded. "I saw…saw you with _him._ Now you're alone, too."

"…Yeah." It was hard to force the word out.

"They're all the same," she said, staring at the floor. "After one thing. All the same…all the same…"

Angela had slid to the ground again, hugging her knees and sobbing. While she was hunched over like that, her dark hair falling over her eyes, she looked incredibly frail. And though I pitied her, I knew it would be useless to try to say any more. It was easy to see that she was too far gone. In Angela's case, the town had won.

As I walked away, further down the hall, the heat began to fade. But even as I left, she continued to murmur the same words over and over, her voice like a broken record.

_All the same…all the same…all the same…_

I grimaced and shook my head—and her voice suddenly vanished. It was as if something had come and snatched her out of existence. It wasn't long before I found myself wondering if the encounter had ever occurred at all.

The stifling heat was gone completely now, replaced by the same dank corridors from before. This place was unrecognizable. It felt like I was going in circles, but I didn't have paper to draw my own map. The broken windows I came across let in some light, but it was too foggy to see outside. This place had turned into a maze and it bothered me that I hadn't even _seen _when it had happened.

Then, finally, the worst came.

I turned a corner—and immediately froze. There, at the end of the hall. Twin shadows. Like statues.

No. No. No. _NONONONONO—_

Angular helmets; long, wickedly sharp spears. The two Pyramid Heads began to move. Coming for me.

The horrifying realization came that my last moments were finally here, the time I'd been fearing all along was at hand. And now that my death was imminent, everything within me rebelled against it. My mouth went dry. I broke out in a cold sweat. My muscles tensed.

I had been hit with such a strong wave of terror that for a moment, all I could do was stare as my executioners closed in. Then survival instinct kicked in—I turned tail and ran. My legs still felt like Jell-O, and my knees wanted to buckle, but I pushed myself as hard as I could. The pain inside of me throbbed relentlessly. My bullet wound was hurting again; each time my injured calf flexed, it sent a jolt of agony up the length of my leg. Blood seeped through the leg of my jeans and through the sleeves of my hoodie and I tasted it on my tongue, the metallic taste, metallic like iron, copper, rust, helmets, spears, knives, hell, _hell—_

Dead end. There was no more to the hallway except for a doorway to my left, which I pushed through into a destroyed hotel room. No connecting doors, windows boarded up. No escape.

The walk-in closet was my only option. The doors were badly burnt but I made my way inside, taking refuge in the shadows. Then I shut myself in, enclosing myself in pitch darkness save for a single crack of light beneath the closet doors. It took an enormous effort to quiet the sound of my breathing. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.

There was an old cot folded up in the back of the closet. I grabbed it and wedged its metal frame beneath the knobs of the doors, knowing it was a futile effort but doing so all the same.

Footsteps. Slow, lumbering footsteps. I pressed my body to the back wall of the closet and froze like that, having reached the limit of my capabilities. My mind ran in circles, the same thought over and over—_Please, god, oh please, please, no—_and silent tears leaked from my eyes. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't…

The scant light coming from beneath the doors suddenly vanished. My knees finally gave out and I slid to the floor, curling up into the fetal position and hiding my face so I wouldn't have to look, wouldn't have to see what was coming.

There was a loud _crack _as something slammed into the doors. The sound of splintering wood met my ears. I saw the doors bulge precariously inward as the weakened wood began to give way.

Again. And again.

Then a hand burst through the wood and gripped the door, beginning to tear it right off its hinges. I caught sight of a rusted helmet.

Coming for me.

I screamed. Suddenly I had lost all control and I was in hysterics, barely able to breathe I was screaming so hard, my throat feeling like it was being torn open.

Hands closed around my arms. And then, nothing.

* * *

The darkness faded all too quickly.

My arms ached horribly; I vaguely remembered being dragged, but the thoughts flitted away as an urge to vomit came back. I felt sick but I couldn't, I couldn't because I was _upside down_—

No. I knew where I was. Living a nightmare.

"_Leave her alone! No!"_

James…

He was standing below, out of reach, his face fraught with despair. I realized with growing hopelessness that there was nothing he could do. I was bound in a vulnerable position to a metal grate, hanging over empty air. No one was going to save me. No one.

"U-Unh…" The shaky groan escaped my lips. Please, no…I didn't want to die. Not for this.

A Pyramid Head on either side of me. The two that had pulled me here. One of them was drawing his arm back. I couldn't see what he was doing, I couldn't see but I _knew—_

"_Brittany!"_ The blond outright screamed my name and I understood that the last few seconds of my life were ticking away.

The gun was still at my hip. My finger felt for the trigger. Tightened. There was a loud bang, and stinging hot pain coursed down my leg as something punched a hole through my jeans. The bullet hit one of the straps that held me up, snapping it; I slid down several feet just as the business end of a spear shot through the grate. It came through between my knees—where my hips had been just seconds before.

The other straps binding me to the grate had loosened. I continued sliding downwards. The second Pyramid Head was readying his spear now. I decided that dropping down headfirst was better than being impaled through the torso. Pulling the handgun from my hip now, I fired at the remaining straps, snapping them.

My stomach lurched as the world suddenly spun—I was falling, falling, the concrete below rushing up to meet me at an alarming rate. I was going to crack my skull open, snap my neck, but my throat was too raw for me to unleash one last cry of anguish.

Now I hit something hard. But it wasn't the unforgiving, hard concrete surface…no, _he _had run to catch me. It was an awkward catch—James had fallen to the ground, as well—but it was a catch nonetheless. When I finally did hit the floor, the pain was minimal compared to what it could have been.

"Are you all right? Brittany! Answer me!" James was leaning over me, speaking urgently, his eyes guilty and worried and afraid. It had always been hard to meet his gaze; now it was ten times harder. The world was spinning. I had barely been able to register what happened.

My insides churned again. I rolled over and threw up bile. There was blood in the vomit. The sleeve of my left arm was soaked with blood, my hip was badly burnt from firing the gun so close to my skin, the pressure inside my head was agonizing, and something was shifting, writhing inside me…

James lowered his gaze and shadows fell over his eyes. His dark and brooding look was frightening to me now. I could sense his determination. And I could see the figures that were suddenly lurking behind us, figures that had appeared in the blink of an eye with no warning at all.

"Brittany…" he murmured my name again. "I understand now. I was weak. That's why I needed them…I needed them to punish me for my sins. For the terrible things I did…but that's all over now. I know the truth. They won't make you suffer any longer. It's time for me to end this."

He slowly got to his feet, turning his back to me. For the first time since I'd met him, he was truly driven now, no longer wearing that misty-eyed expression I'd grown so used to seeing.

_That's why I did it, honey. I just couldn't watch you suffer._

I wanted to throw up again. James was firing the shotgun at both Pyramid Heads and they weren't even flinching, and all I could think about was the time I'd emptied an entire clip into one of them with no effect at all. They just kept approaching, relentlessly pursuing. I remembered the spear coming through the grate between my legs. That had been too close.

But how much time had I bought myself? My skin was pale and clammy and I wasn't sure if I could help James in this fight—wasn't sure if I _should._ I just wanted to run. Run far, far away…

I shakily got to my feet, taking note that James had my bag with him—an extra box of bullets was in there. That left me with seventeen rounds, unless I had counted wrong. Firing the gun seemed useless at this point. But what other means of defense did I have?

"Stay behind me," James warned, sending a cautious glance my way. We kept moving so that neither of the Pyramid Heads could back us into a corner; James also fired the shotgun frequently enough to slow them down, but that was all he was doing—slowing them down.

One of them abruptly came too close, and their arm shot forward. The spear glanced off the wall inches away from me as I dove to the side. James attempted to grab my hand to pull me out of harm's way, but he was forced to recoil when another spear came between us. I had no choice but to back off, holding the handgun out like a lifeline. The two Pyramid Heads were separated. One came for each of us. Two entities driven by the same purpose.

My hands were shaking too badly to aim the gun with any effectiveness at all. I found myself backing away, barely able to think straight, just desperately wanting to _survive._

I had to survive. I had to live. If I didn't, what then? All this would have been for nothing. I had to face it—face it all. I had to see this through to the end. I couldn't die when I was this close!

Backed into a corner now. The room was lit with flashes as James continually fired. Finally I stopped cowering and actually took a step forward as Pyramid Head approached. If I was going to be killed anyway…then I would face him now. I would…

No more than five feet away now. If I had wanted to, I could reach out and touch the tip of his helmet. Instead I stood still and aimed the gun. I aimed despite the fact that he could easily impale me from this distance. My finger rested on the trigger. Four feet away now. Point blank range.

Pyramid Head came to a stop. My entire body shook; he towered over me. I could hear the same muffled breathing I had come to fear during my time in this town. He raised the spear…

And then he braced it against the floor in front of him, lifted his helmet, and lurched forward to drive the tip of it directly into his head. I heard the meaty sound of it tearing through flesh, through bone, and finally hitting the inside of the helmet with a clang. Blood poured from the inside of the helmet and splashed on to the floor in an enormous pool.

Halfway across the room, I saw James frozen in place, facing the exact same thing as me. Both Pyramid Heads had committed the same act at precisely the same time. Now they were stiff as statues and the room was utterly silent save for the minute dripping sound of blood hitting the concrete. I found myself still holding the handgun out in the defiant posture I had attempted; now I just didn't know what to do.

Finally I just fell to my knees. I didn't have the energy to cry or scream or anything anymore. I just sat there and felt numb.

In the background, I heard the sound of James' cautious footsteps and I could picture what he was doing without glancing up—circling around each of the Pyramid Heads, examining their corpses. Corpses, huh…they didn't even _look _dead. Had they ever been alive to begin with? Could _that _be called living?

After several minutes I heard the blond approach me. I didn't look up, not even when he crouched at my side. He didn't attempt to put a comforting hand on my shoulder. No surprise there.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly, hesitantly.

"Terrible," I answered in all honesty.

There was a long pause. Then James finally stood up again, turning away from me.

"…They were holding these strange…egg-shaped stones. I think they're the keys to those doors. This…this is the very end. I can feel it. Will you come with me?"

I thought for a moment, and then pushed myself up as well. Rather than giving him a verbal response, I just came to stand behind him, silent and morose. He stared at me, his eyes searching, before finally giving me a nod.

"Okay. Just a little further."

We walked through the nearest set of doors. They creaked ominously as we passed—not that that was anything new. And finally, we were continuing towards the end. Maybe I had survived that last conflict somehow…but this wasn't over. Things were far from all right. I didn't know what we were going to find up ahead. Peace was probably too much to hope for.

* * *

The final stretch was almost surreal. James and I walked side-by-side for much of it, through destroyed parts of the building, past yellow caution tape and shattered windows. The smell of smoke permeated everything. The true hotel, indeed…but James hadn't been the only one lying to himself all this time.

The man was completely silent during the entire walk, particularly so during a certain long hallway. He actually slowed and began to fall behind at that point; I kept walking on ahead. What did I care? We were both headed to the same destination.

A long set of metal stairs led us to a wide open area that looked to be on the hotel's top floor. The area was completely empty, save for a single bed. The bed was, curiously enough, missing a pillow. I was sure I wasn't the only one that noticed this.

Large windows were all along the back wall of the place, probably overlooking the lake. Right now all I could see was fog through the glass. But it wasn't the view through the windows that concerned me—it was the fact that there was no one standing _at _the window. No one at the window or sitting on the bed. No Mary.

But of course…why _would _she be here? In almost all of the endings, it was Maria standing there, posing as Mary. Maria—whoever she was, _what_ever she was—was dead.

I walked on ahead, aimlessly out into the open. I heard James' footsteps slow behind me. Finally I came to a stop at the window. Nobody here…the place was deserted.

"What…" James began to voice a question, but trailed off helplessly. I turned around to face him; he looked lost.

Empty.

An incredulous little laugh bubbled up in my throat. James looked at me like I was crazy, and that just got me going even more. In the next few seconds I was doubled over, clutching my stomach and laughing hard.

"What's so funny?" He asked cautiously.

"There's nothing here," I answered after a few seconds, indicating the room with a sweep of my arms. "Nothing…fucking…_here._ Are you happy, James? Are you satisfied?"

James fell silent. His eyes darkened, and he wouldn't look at me. "I…"

"The irony is sickening," I told him, seeing red. I'd never felt so angry in my entire life. Pain. So much pain. My body was deteriorating fast and if I wanted to say anything to this stupid fuck, then I had to say it _now_, goddammit. "Mary, she's all you ever cared about. The dead wife that _you _murdered. I'm _DYING, _did you ever stop to consider that?"

Finally he looked up. His eyes were troubled, but his gaze was steady. "I _did _consider—"

"I matter!" I yelled. "Mary's dead, James! What about me, huh? _I'm _still alive! What about _me?_"

He visibly faltered, seeming to look at me more carefully now. The troubled expression worsened. "You're…not Mary."

The feeling of complete and utter rejection was like a stab in the gut. A voice in the back of my head protested

_(what are you thinking can't replace Mary not like that James is right stop stop)_

but it went ignored in the wake of my growing anger. The edges of my vision darkened again. Why? It was always like this. The entire time I had been here. Always leaving me behind. Always selfish. Ignoring me. Refusing to get _near _me.

_I saw…saw you with him._

Being hunted by Pyramid Head, following him through hell, making sacrifices just so he could follow a path that led to absolutely _nothing _in the end, and all he could think of to say was _that?_

_Now you're alone, too._

"…I guess not," I whispered. My skin had turned an unhealthy pale shade—almost grey, corpse grey. Like the nurses. Dying. I was

_(following him around like some kind of mindless puppet don't tell me you think it's going to make a difference)_

going to die and there was no way I could ever make him care. All that mattered to him was that Mary wasn't here. Now he was going to leave…leave me all alone.

_Those who walk in shadows walk with death._

That was what it had meant. Following in James' shadow. Never making my own path. That was why I had contracted this…this _disease._ It was his fault. His fault my head felt like it was splitting open, his fault my vision was going red, his fault my entire body was agony, _hisfaulthisfaulthisfault—_

Now the look on James' face had changed from troubled to outright concerned to wary.

"Brittany…" He took a step forward. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

"That's a laugh," I spat. "I'm never going to leave and you know it. It's _your fault._ Look at me. Just look at me! I'm disgusting. There's something _wrong _with me."

"What are you saying?" James nearly flinched at my words, and I felt some spiteful satisfaction at seeing his composure crumble a little.

Now that I was going, I couldn't stop. The hateful words poured off my tongue without any effort at all, and I was walking closer just as he was backing away.

"You said you would help me. You only made things worse," I growled. "And now Mary's not here. She never was here. All you learned was that you've been lying to yourself this whole time, and you know what, you _deserve _to be in this hellhole! What makes you think she would ever forgive you for what you did?"

My breathing had grown ragged. My hands were shaking. It shouldn't have been able to stand up at this point, but something was giving me a second wind. I was sure that once I fell, this time I wouldn't be able to get up again.

James just stared at me, his eyes pained. It was clear that couldn't think of an adequate response, and so he waited for an end to my rant. And so I was going to give it to him.

"If you want to be with Mary so badly, James, maybe you should just die," I said quietly. I raised the hand holding the gun and pointed it

_(this isn't right)_

at his forehead, my finger resting lightly on the trigger.

He grew very still, staring down the barrel of that gun. "…You don't mean that."

"…Just die," I whispered, and pulled the trigger.

If James hadn't anticipated the shot and dove out of the way just in time, he would have been a dead man. But what did it matter? What the fuck did it _matter? _I had six rounds left. Six rounds and

_(that's James why am I shooting why WHY)_

that was plenty enough for me.

James was stumbling to his feet. He had both a shotgun and a hunting rifle, but hadn't reached for either—instead he chose to hold his hands up in a gesture of surrender. I punched him. His head snapped to one side and he let out a grunt, reaching up to touch the hurt cheek.

My skin. Corpse grey. Everything…bleeding…

"James," I breathed. Bile crept up my throat. Something—something moving, crawling, coming up, _up—_

I lurched forward, heaving, and a black mass fell from my mouth and hit the floor. It moved, writhed for a moment, before unfolding a large pair of black wings. Moth. A moth.

James approached me again and I lashed out with the butt of the gun, catching him on his injured side. He stifled his own pained cry long enough to shove me backwards, reaching into his bag for something. I didn't give him time to find it, instead firing at him again. The bullet grazed his arm, tearing the sleeve of his jacket.

I pulled the trigger. Again. Again. Finally James cried out, clutching his shoulder as blood sprayed behind him, spattering across the floor. When I lunged forward, intending to finish it, suddenly James' stance had changed. He swung the shotgun like a bat—directly at my face. Pain exploded in my head and the world went dark for a moment as my body connected with the floor.

No…it was done. I was done.

"James…" I murmured again, hating him and hating his name but unable to stop myself from uttering it regardless.

His shadow loomed over me. Next to me, the black moth flapped feebly, its wings soaked with blood and bile. I sighed and felt the agony wash over me and waited for death.

* * *

**A/N: If you see any typos, feel free to point them out. Haven't had the chance to proofread this a billion times...and sometimes document manager likes to butcher things.**

**Uh, anyway. Don't know how I feel about this chapter, just that I wrote a lot of it at once and now my eyes hurrrt. And yes...this is the last chapter before the end. The endings will each be posted as separate chapters, and I'm going to put them up all at once. You can take a look at the chapter titles and decide whichever one you want to read first when that time comes.**

**Lemme know what you think! Reviews are much appreciated. :D**

**Next time: And so they danced off into the sunset and lived happily ever after!**

**...okay, I really should go to bed. XD**


	18. Ending: Promise

**A/N: YES, THE DAY HAS COME. **

**This is the first of four endings - all based on the game's original endings (not counting the Dog ending). I'd originally planned to do a few more of my own and a joke ending, but I can't come up with anything good at the moment. I'm going to post what I have and mark the story as complete...but if I get any ideas, I'll definitely write/post them. Right now I'm a little drained. I need a break. :P**

**...Seriously, any idea how to effectively translate something like the Dog ending into writing? XD**

**Anyway, you can read these endings in any order you like; you don't have to read this one first. Enjoy!**

* * *

Nothing came. All I could do was lay there helplessly, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly James propped me up and something was pressed to my lips. A warm, bitter tasting liquid spilled into my mouth.

"Swallow it," he urged in a weak voice. "It'll help."

Part of me wanted to spit it back in his face just to spite him. But that part was losing its aggressiveness; I had no energy left. So I swallowed because there was no other option.

I regretted my decision when the liquid felt like fire coursing down my throat. I could feel it, white-hot, spreading into every artery, every vein, into the pit of my stomach and _burning—_

All I could do was roll over and the next thing I knew I was heaving, black liquid mixed with blood pouring from my mouth. Moving masses. More of those moths. My horror and revulsion grew—_moths? _Why? _Why were those things inside of me?_

Vomiting. I couldn't breathe. Burning pain everywhere, tears coursing down my face. There was a moth in my throat. I could feel it writhing, squirming, trying to move its wings. I heaved harder.

Too much. After an eternity, it finally felt like I had exhausted the contents of my body; I fell over on to my side, sapped of all energy. The world faded away. A small part of me hoped that I would fade away with it.

* * *

Cool air…

Cool, crisp air on my skin. What was that feeling? Was I…could I be…outside?

My eyes fluttered open, met instantly with the same endless grey fog I'd been seeing for ages now. At first I was dismayed, but then I smiled absently; fog meant that I was outside. Out of…where had I been? The hotel, that was right. Not in the hotel anymore…that was good.

Where was I? Lying on something hard. A wooden bench. And the ground…a brick walkway. To my left was a railing, and someone was leaning on it. A very familiar someone wearing a green coat. Seeing him brought an onslaught of mixed emotions; most of all, I just wanted to cry.

"James…?" My voice was a raw croak. I vaguely recalled vomiting my brains out, but that whole thing was such a painful blur that I wasn't sure if it had been real or not.

He turned around at the sound of my voice. At first, he faltered. His eyes searched my face. "…How are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth to reply, then paused. How _was _I feeling? Weak, tired, very sore…but something was substantially different from before.

"It's gone."

His eyes clouded with confusion. "Gone? What is?"

This new discovery caused me to sit up too quickly, then grip my forehead with a wince as the world spun. When I had finally regained my bearings, I met his eyes excitedly, smiling.

"The…the pain! The illness—whatever it was—it's gone! I feel better. My head's clear…I feel _normal._ I…" The smile slowly fell. "I…what…what happened…?" The shoulder of his jacket was torn and bloody. He looked too pale. But that was from…

James watched me cautiously for a moment before approaching. He pulled a small vial from his pocket, holding it out to me. The ampoule…? It was empty. The top had been broken off. _Ipomoea lacunosa extract._

"That's the scientific name for a plant that grows around here. It's called White Claudia," he explained quietly.

"White Claudia…" I repeated, my face blank. From the first game? The drugs?

"While you were down on the first floor, I did some research," James told me. "I found out…the liquid in that vial comes from White Claudia. It's called Aglaophotis. The religious group around here…I guess they used it for exorcisms. That's what I gave you."

"And I threw up…" I trailed off. Moths. Black moths inside of me…

But another memory caused me to press a hand to my forehead. "I attacked you—oh god, I tried to _kill _you! James, I—I—!"

So much anger, back then. Why had I been so angry at him? Because he had said I wasn't Mary? But I _knew _that! I had never been looking to replace his wife! Everything had turned around so dramatically in my head and it was like when I had been cutting myself open, it had seemed justified and rational at the time but in hindsight I looked fucking _crazy._

"Jesus Christ," I finally murmured, putting my head in my hands. "I'm…so…"

I heard James breathe a sigh. "You're back to normal."

"I'm so sorry." Tears stung at my eyes. "I shot you." I looked up suddenly. "My god, are you okay? I _shot _you! James, your shoulder—"

"I bandaged it while you were out," he replied. "Just a little weak from blood loss. I'm okay."

"…Good." My shoulders sagged. "I…I don't know what happened. I was so _mad._ I thought I was dying, and it…it suddenly seemed like everything was your fault, but I _know _it wasn't, and—"

"Brittany."

My head shot up at his voice, and he continued.

"You weren't yourself. Something…_happened_ to you." He shifted uneasily, avoiding my gaze for a moment. "Your skin…your eyes. It wasn't right. That's why I thought…why I gave you what was in the vial. I thought it was the only option left."

"So…you…"

"It's okay." He attempted a smile. "We're alive. I'm…not mad or anything."

I returned the smile, feeling tears drip down my cheeks. It was now that I noticed—we were outside, and I didn't see any monsters. Not a single one. And was the fog thinning a little? Maybe it was just my imagination.

"Hey…I know I just got done puking butterflies, but you wouldn't be too freaked out if I hugged you right now, right?"

Now he gave me a real smile for what felt like the first time in ages, rolling his eyes and holding out his arms in a humoring manner. It was the first time James had actually _offered _a hug rather than having it forced upon him. My vision blurred as the tears came more freely now.

Everything felt…clearer. Maybe it was just the fact that it was finally over, but…all of those confusing emotions, conflicting thoughts, strange pains…they were all gone. That black hate, the spitefulness I had felt towards James was gone. Wow—I could honestly say it now. There was absolutely _nothing _wrong with me. I was beat up, yeah, and I was probably gonna be dealing with a pretty hefty case of PTSD later on, but for the most part I was perfectly fine.

Aglaophotis…so that had been the lifesaver all along, huh? And if not for James, I never would've guessed to use it. I might've died when the cure had been right on my person the whole time. But that meant that like James, I'd been given the opportunity to save myself. The key to that strange copy of my room, where I'd found the Aglaophotis…it had been connected to that revolver lying in the road. No, not just any revolver—Maria's.

Things had turned out okay. Did that mean everything was going to be fine now?

After a few seconds, I pulled away from the hug. Wouldn't want to make poor James too uncomfortable.

Hold on, there was something else I needed to take care of before all was said and done…

"Oh…I have something for you. I found it on the first floor," I told him, reaching into the pocket of my jeans. "Sorry I didn't give it to you earlier. I forgot I had it."

"What…?" He watched as I pulled the envelope out of my pocket, handing it to him. "This writing, it's…!"

"It's the other letter, right?" I took a seat on the bench again. "The one Laura lost."

"Yeah…I guess it is." James sat down next to me, opening the envelope and pulling out the contents slowly.

He fell silent, his eyes roving over the page. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes while I waited for him to finish. The waters of Toluca Lake lapped quietly against the shore, creating a relaxing sound that soothed me. For once I wasn't consumed with nagging, fearful thoughts like how many people had died in that lake, or how the waters were such an ominous shade of grey. I just listened and appreciated the fact that I was still _alive _to listen.

Minutes passed. The blond was looking over each page, front and back, probably memorizing every word. Finally he folded the pages back up and put them in the breast pocket of his coat—the same place he kept his photograph of Mary. Then he leaned forward and pressed his palms to his forehead, covering his eyes and weaving his fingers into his hair. He let out a shuddering sigh.

Shocked, I turned to stare at him out of the corner of my eye. I _knew _that kind of sigh—that was how I always sounded when I was trying my hardest not to cry. James…? It was perfectly understandable, but I had _never _seen him cry…

The letter was an apology, a goodbye, and a request for him to go on with his life. I could imagine it being a lot for him to absorb. It was what we had gone through hell for—that letter, the real truth of it from Mary herself.

Mary, softly smiling at the camera…

I reached up and put a comforting hand on James' back. He remained still for another few seconds before finally straightening up. His eyes were wet—but he retained his composure.

"…I guess we should get out of here," he said quietly, beginning to stand up. He faltered, though, and fell back down to the bench.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned. Then I saw the wince on his face, how pale he was, and made the connection. "Your shoulder…let me see."

He opened his mouth to protest, but then seemed to think better of it. With some effort, James shrugged off his coat. The shoulder of his polo was completely soaked; I felt a little nauseous looking at it, but pushed the feeling away. He pulled the polo off, grimacing as he did so.

"Jesus," I whispered. His makeshift bandaging job had soaked through, and some of it had come unraveled. I almost _was _sick when I pulled away some of the bandages to see the wound beneath; while the entry wound was a neat little hole, the exit wound was a bit more gruesome. Too much blood. I instantly went about redressing the injury, taking the last of the medical supplies out of my bag.

"I'll be okay," James murmured. "The bullet went right through."

"What the hell did you _do?_" I murmured, shaking my head. How had the bandages loosened that much? It almost looked like he'd made it worse—oh. "Don't tell me…we're in Rosewater Park. Did you…you _rowed _all the way across the lake? With that shoulder?"

"I couldn't stay at the hotel," he replied in a near-mumble, his eyes closed.

"Jesus," I repeated, shaking my head. "This is my fault…"

"No. Stop saying that. You were…"

"…What? Possessed?"

"Does it matter?"

I sighed. "Guess not…as long as it's over."

James nodded. "…Are you finished?"

"Yeah," I replied, patting his shoulder lightly. The clean white bandages were a little reassuring, but I knew they'd be soaked through in a matter of hours. He needed to get to a hospital.

"All right," he said, slowly standing up and putting his shirt and coat back on. He was still a little wobbly, but it looked like his vertigo had for the most part passed. "Let's get back to the car. Then we can get out of here."

"Thank god," I said, and gave him a real smile. "Never thought I'd live to see this glorious moment."

"Listen…" James closed his eyes for a moment. "…hmm. Doesn't it seem quieter?"

I reached out, tapping the radio on his belt. "For once there's no static. Here's hoping it stays that way."

And with that, we left Rosewater Park—where our journey began, and essentially where it had ended. Then began the long walk down Nathan Avenue, which was for once completely free of obstacles. The only thing that remained the same as always was the fog; even the silence seemed less ominous than it would have otherwise.

"Hold on," I said when we had walked down the road a ways. There was a pristine white church to our right: St. Stella. Was that what it looked like? A lot more innocent than I would've thought. I hadn't been able to see it when I first came here.

"What is it?" James asked, watching me as I walked over to the church's front steps.

_If this ends ideally for you, you can give it back later. _

Well, I'd say it had ended ideally enough—hell, I was alive, wasn't I?

"Just returning something I borrowed," I said with a chuckle. Pulling the flashlight out of my bag, I reached out and set it on the top step. Then I knocked on the doors a few times before walking back out on to the road.

"Okay, let's go," I told James. He nodded, and we began heading back down the avenue.

"You think he'll see it?" the blond asked.

I shrugged. "Least I can say I made the effort." The truth of it was I didn't want any souvenirs from this hellhole, even if it was an item as ordinary as a flashlight. Everything else I brought home, including the clothes I'd taken, was going to be trashed or burned.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves out on the forest trail. The tension and residual fear gradually emptied out of my system as more and more time passed with no dangerous encounters. And for the first time in ages, I heard birds chirping. That was one thing I had never realized I'd missed—the sounds of wildlife, which had been completely absent in the town.

But then, as we were rounding a bend on the path, I saw a small body through the trees. Laura, sitting on the grass by the shore of the lake, hugging her knees. Jesus…she was only eight. This was no place for an eight-year-old to be hanging around alone, regardless of if the town affected her or not.

James was apparently making the same observation. His lips were turned down in a frown. "I think…Mary was all she really had."

"It's sad…" I murmured. "She came here by herself, too."

"She knows what I did," James remarked, "and hates me for it."

"'To err is human,'" I quoted sagely, patting him on the back. "Go talk to her. Laura needs _someone._ Mary wanted to adopt her, right?"

"Are you saying…" he stared at me, brow furrowed, and then looked over at Laura. Finally he just nodded. "…All right. I'll try talking to her. Just…tell me something first." He looked at me again. "…You left the room after we watched the tape."

I understood where he was going with this; I met his gaze levelly. "James, to be honest, we've been through so much that I just want to move on. We both know it was wrong. What's important is that you understand that."

"…Yeah." It was all he could manage. He stared at the ground now, the guilt plain on his face.

"I don't think you're a bad person," I went on to tell him. "You're an average guy who was put into an extremely difficult situation." Then I rubbed the back of my neck, looking away. "If there's one thing I learned here…it's that everyone has _some _ugliness in them. Most people are just never pushed hard enough for that ugliness to really show."

The blond gave me a weak smile. "You don't sound much like a teenager."

"I sure as hell don't _feel _like one anymore." The weariness of my own smile reflected his own. "Anyway, now that we're on the same page…there's just one more thing, James."

"What is it?" he asked cautiously.

"Promise me you'll go to a hospital. I don't know what'll happen when we leave…I do know that we're not—figuratively, literally, whatever—out of the woods just yet. You need medical attention."

James' discomfort with the idea was obvious. He wouldn't meet my gaze, and he even seemed to grow paler than he already was. But I wasn't going to have him be one of those people that always avoided doctor's visits out of some irrational fear. I already knew _I _was in danger of becoming one of those people. The thought of entering a hospital without a gun or pipe or _something _just gave me the creeps.

"…Fine." He closed his eyes. "We'll go together. You need to get your arm fixed up, too."

Damn. I should've known he'd find a way to drag me down with him. But if I was going to combat my fears, who better to do it with than James? Hopefully I wouldn't freak out and give the doctors even more wounds to tend.

Finally I just snorted at myself. How stupid could I get? As long as the hospital didn't have _Brookhaven_ or _Alchemilla _stamped on the front, chances were it was safe enough. It wasn't like going into a hospital opened up some weird twilight zone portal that would call me back to Silent Hill. And—here was the best part—I didn't have anything to worry about. I had gone through the most intensive fucking therapy session of the century and I had come out corrected. The town was done with me.

"Okay. Sounds good." It was time to move on and be a normal person again. When I held out a hand, he gave me a puzzled look. I grinned. "C'mon. Real men pinky swear."

James rolled his eyes, turning around and starting to walk over to where Laura was. "Go wait in the car."

I laughed for real then, actually feeling _good _for the first time since I had ended up in this town. Hell, I had already hit rock bottom earlier—things could only get better from here. So as James sat down next to a morose Laura, I walked further up the trail, heading for the observation deck. As I walked, I plucked the handgun from my belt and tossed it off into the bushes. No need for it anymore.

The walk to the deck took a few minutes; during that time the fog thickened substantially, then finally seemed to thin out. But it wasn't the observation deck I came upon when the path finally came to an end.

I guess I should've expected it—how could I have gotten home if I was with James? In the world I knew, Silent Hill was fictional. My home and the place in which the town existed were on two separate planes of reality, like the foggy world and the Otherworld.

So when the fog finally cleared, I didn't come out by that rest stop overlooking Toluca Lake. No, I came out of the woods near County Route 12, in a small town in upstate New York. My hometown.

For a moment, all I did was stare, unable to register the scene before me. Suddenly everything seemed too familiar—now I wasn't seeing scenes from a video game I'd played, but an actual place I remembered from before I'd been tossed into hell. My house…it couldn't have been more than a mile away. If not for the fog, I might've even been able to see it from here. Yes, this was definitely New York…

An enormous feeling of loss overtook me. Just like that, I was home. It was over. James was gone; _Silent Hill _was gone. All in the blink of an eye. I had done what I had been meant to do, learned what I needed to learn. That must have been why the town let me leave.

This was the road where I'd run into Maria, but my car was gone. It felt like it had been an eternity. The fog was clearing…for the first time in forever, I began to see rays of sunlight shining in through the haze. Maybe there would be a rainbow. A rainbow…that would be nice.

The woods were behind me, but they weren't Silent Hill woods anymore. If I turned back and walked the way I came, I'd just run into the empty field where my town's old water tower used to be. And after that, a swamp.

Somewhere out there, James was talking to Laura right now. If he convinced her, she would come with him back to the car—where I wouldn't be waiting. Maybe he'd look for a while, but eventually he would leave. He would have to if Laura chose to depend on him. They would go on with their lives.

Go on with their lives…in a place far, far away from me. That world, those people…they were back to being unreachable. Now that I thought about it, things were probably better off that way.

Still feeling dazed, dreamy, I began the trek back to my house. To normality. To safety. To freedom.

The nightmare was over. As the fog vanished and freed me from its grasp, I looked upon the blue sky and was immensely grateful to be alive.

…

_You've given me so much and I haven't been able to return a single thing._

_That's why I want you to live for yourself now. Do what's best for you, James._

_James…_

_You made me happy._


	19. Ending: Requiem

**A/N: Ending number two, _"Requiem"_.**

* * *

I stirred.

Everything…everything was heavy and sore. My head pounded horribly; I reached up to touch it and had to pull my hand away with a wince. It came away bloody. There was a large bump on the side of my head.

James…

_(the shotgun hit you with the shotgun traitor kill him kill)_

"Shut up," I croaked weakly, too exhausted to heed the aggressive voice in my head. I remembered. James hitting me hard enough to knock me to the ground, me passing out shortly afterward. The action was forgivable. It had been self-defense.

What was _not _forgivable were my own actions. Still, though, part of me was screaming with rage, even as the rest of me screamed from the pain I felt. I didn't know why I felt the need to assign blame for this condition. It was nobody's fault but my own, I had gotten myself into this town—

_(no James James JAMES)_

I almost said his name, then stopped myself. No…other things were more important. Like where I was. The pain meant I was still, for better or worse, alive.

With some measure of effort, I managed to sit up. The world spun for a moment but when it finally stilled, I recognized my surroundings instantly. Those big windows, the blood on the floor, this _bed_. The bed had been what I was lying on…that explained my stiff neck. The pillow was still mysteriously absent.

My eyes were drawn to the dark moth on the floor. Its struggles to fly had ceased. But still its legs twitched; it was attempting to approach the blood spatter. I saw the way its proboscis elongated and curled, reaching, seeking…and nausea hit me again.

I forced myself to turn away, looking elsewhere in the room. No sign of James. But no…I knew I hadn't killed him. And even if I had, there should have been a body, some evidence, _something._

My bag was sitting at my feet. I frowned; James had been carrying my bag, hadn't he? So he must have…

When I reached out to pick it up, my hand faltered. There was an envelope sitting by my feet as well. I picked it up, recognizing it instantly. James' name was printed on the front in that familiar handwriting. This was the letter from Mary that I had found. But hadn't that been in my pocket? Had it fallen out?

There was a strange bulge in the envelope that hadn't been there before. Curious, I opened the flap and looked inside. Hold on…that vial. It was the one I had picked up a while ago—the one labeled _ipomoea lacunosa extract._ What was that doing in there? And the paper in the envelope didn't fit right—it wasn't the same letter.

James must have found this envelope in my pocket, I realized. He would have taken Mary's letter with him to…to…where, exactly? I didn't know. I just knew suddenly and inexplicably that he was gone and he probably wasn't coming back.

I pulled the ampoule out of the envelope, and then the paper. I unfolded it and saw that my own name was printed at the top in the same handwriting that had been on the label of the video tape. It was a letter from James.

_Brittany,_

_I'm sorry._

_I understand why you hate me. You're right—I did fail you. I told you I would protect you, and that I would never leave you alone. It was a lie that I made myself believe._

_I tried to justify my own shortcomings by telling you that you weren't Mary, but that's the funny part—the whole reason everything went so wrong was because I was subconsciously forming parallels between you two. I kept feeling like if I could save you, it would somehow cancel out all the guilt I felt for what I'd done. Maybe that's why Pyramid Head went after you so much. He was using you to prove a point to me. _

_I don't expect you to forgive me._

_You've probably realized by now, but I found the letter in your pocket. Thank you for keeping that safe for me—finally seeing the truth of it from Mary herself really opened my eyes. I understand now what I have to do._

_The red liquid in the vial is called Aglaophotis. Take it. It will save your life._

_James_

The contents of the letter had troubled me, but it was the last line that hit me like a brick wall. Aglaophotis. That word's significance stuck with me above everything else. That stuff? The remedy used to exorcise demons…

I picked up the ampoule, snapped off the top, and immediately put the glass to my lips. The contents slid into my mouth—a thick, bitter tasting liquid. As soon as I swallowed it, I nearly retched. It had a terrible aftertaste and the _feeling _of it going down my throat was painful, like swallowing hot wax.

The pain seemed to last far too long, leaving my throat burning. That pain combined with the agony I was already experiencing was almost too much, and I began to feel dizzy. Then, out of nowhere, my stomach violently rebelled. Everything inside of me felt like it was ripping apart and all of a sudden I could _feel _them in me, the moths, their legs moving and bodies shifting and—

The feeling came again. I rolled over and fell off the bed, jarring my knees badly, and began to heave up the contents of my stomach. Tears streamed down my face as the gag reflex was triggered again and again. Each time I retched was forceful and painful enough to make my vision begin to blur. The vomit was black—with blood, yes, but what else I wasn't sure. When I saw the fat, squirming moths in my vomit, my heaving worsened. I was crying and screaming and sick all at the same time and I couldn't breathe.

After an eternity, there was nothing left in my stomach. I continued to retch all the same. Eventually it grew to be too much; I collapsed over on to my side and everything faded to black.

* * *

_This…this is the very end. I can feel it. Will you come with me?_

_That's why I needed them…I needed them to punish me for my sins._

_I would never do that. Never._

My eyes opened slowly. The first sight I was met with was the bare, dirty ceiling of the hotel. Twice now I had woken up in this area…

Something smelled. Still dazed and groggy, I turned my head slightly—and had to force myself to look away. Even after squeezing my eyes closed, though, the image was burned into my head. Huge moths, the size of my hand, lying on the floor in a pool of dark liquid. I vaguely recalled vomiting. Even now that seemed like a horrible, painful dream.

After a few minutes of gathering my bearings, I sat up slowly. It was hard to look at the mess on the floor without dry-heaving, but somehow I managed. The black color of that vomit couldn't have been just blood. What the hell had been _inside _of me?

The moth I had heaved up while fighting James was still feebly trying to crawl away, even with its wings still wet and useless. The other moths I had sicked up…they were all stiff and still with death. The Aglaophotis…had that been what killed them? Surely it had been the reason I'd started throwing up. Did that mean I was okay now?

Though I still felt shaky, I managed to grab one of the bedposts and hoist myself to my feet. I gripped the frame and waited for the world to stop spinning, and then took a look around. It was still light out and the room was still empty. Nothing had come to finish me off while I was lying here defenseless.

The pain was gone. That fact hit me hard, causing my eyes to widen with complete and utter shock. I had grown so used to it lingering in the background and just like that, it had vanished. No itching discomfort, no throbbing, no…no…

No _anger. _

I closed my eyes. Now that I felt rational again, I realized what an emotional wreck I had been. All of that hatred, sadness, fear, longing…where had that come from? The fear had been understandable, but…but I had lashed out so hard at him. Had I really tried to _kill _him? I had shot him and hehad left _me_ an apology letter. How fucked up was that?

My insides froze. I had shot him. Jesus, was he okay? What if he was bleeding out somewhere right now while I stood here? What if—

Suddenly another thought hit me. How much time had passed since he'd left? And just what was he doing out there…? He wouldn't have left without me…

_Thank you for keeping that safe for me—finally seeing the truth of it from Mary herself really opened my eyes. I understand now what I have to do._

A chill ran through me as I recalled some of the words from his letter. That last line. What did he think he had to do?

"Oh, no," I whispered, and felt sick again.

There was no time to waste. I ran for the stairs.

The fact that the hotel's layout had changed hindered me a great deal. It seemed to take far too long to find the way outside—I knew how to get through the areas James and I had crossed on our way to that final room, but other than that I was lost. I made it past the long hallway and through several ruined hallways and finally came out into the room where I'd nearly been impaled.

The two Pyramid Heads were the way we had left them, still and silent. Regardless, I felt as if they were watching as I passed. I didn't care anymore. I was beyond caring about any of this—any of this except

_(don't talk like that I do care about you it's going to be okay I promise I'm not asking you to be selfless I'm asking you to live wait for me I'm here you're safe now)_

where _he _was and what he was about to do.

So the minutes ticked away as I braved Silent Hill alone. For once, the town was really as deserted as it looked at first glance. When I made it to the dock on the opposite side of the lake, I ran the rest of the way, panting hard. It wasn't the first time I had sprinted down Nathan Avenue. This time nothing was following me.

Back roads. Through the cemetery. Down the forest path. The Observation Deck was

_(you're not Mary not Mary not Mary)_

just ahead. Just a little further, please, please—

The sound of an engine revving effectively halted my frantic train of thought. My mind completely blanked out as my eyes widened, following that sound. I could see the rest stop through the trees.

And then I saw the car go over the edge.

"_NO!"_ My shrill scream echoed through the forest, making me understand that I was truly and completely _alone. _No one was going to come help. No one. James had driven his car into the lake and even _he _hadn't heard me, he was sinking in to the depths with Mary

_(if you really want to see Mary you should just die)_

and oh god why had I said that, whywhywhy—

I ran. Fuck the path. I tore through the brush, twigs and thorns catching in my jeans and nearly tripping me up. Then suddenly I was knee-deep in the water and then chest deep and then I was under. Down, down, down…

Toluca Lake was murky, grey and deathly silent. Too quiet under the water—I couldn't hear anything other than the water shifting from my descent. A pair of headlights cut through the darkness, leading the way. They were shrinking fast. My heart was pounding hard with the panic and adrenaline—it was hard to hold my breath for a long time. But I didn't have time to go up and take another, I just didn't—

After a few seconds my vision started fading out and I knew I couldn't hold it in any longer. I let out the breath and nearly took in water, making it back to the surface just in time. I only spent just long enough to take in another huge breath before diving back down. The waters were lukewarm. Something about that seemed wrong.

When I went back under, the guiding brightness from the headlights was gone. Despair hit me like a wall. I dove down as far as I could, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness; still not a sound or a single sign of life. No fish, no seaweed, no _lakebed._ Where was that car? It had to have sunk to the bottom, but the headlights—!

I ran out of breath and had to come back up. After a second or so I immediately went back down.

Nothing.

I came back up again. Went back down.

Grey waters. Silence.

When I came to the surface to take another breath, I finally began to sob. Then I forced it back and went under again.

I continued this pattern—diving and coming up for breath and trying not to break down—for at least an hour, desperately refusing to acknowledge that by now James would almost certainly be gone. He had saved my life. It was only right that I should in turn fight to save his.

I waged a personal battle against my own grief and denial…and all around me, the town was silent and still and dead.

Dead.

…

_On a fog-bound November day in 1918, the Little Baroness, a ship filled with tourists, failed to return to port._

_A newspaper article from back then simply says "It most likely sunk for some reason". _

_Despite an extensive police search, not a single fragment of the ship nor any of the 14 bodies of passengers or crew has ever been recovered to this day._

…

…_But you might be heading to a different place than Mary, James._


	20. Ending: Thanatos

**A/N: Ending number three, _"Thanatos"_.**

* * *

When my eyes opened again, I saw the same dismal grey sky I'd been seeing for what felt like ages. For a minute I was disoriented, unable to understand where I was or what was going on. Then I saw James, standing with his back to me, and remembered all of the horrible things that had happened in the hotel.

We were in Rosewater Park. I was lying on a bench; my back was stiff, so I must've been unconscious here for a while. James was standing by the railing, looking out over the lake's murky waters. I could faintly see the light that marked the dock of the hotel.

The inside of my mouth tasted terrible, and my throat burned. I was able to recall vomiting before I had fallen unconscious, but not much else. I still felt like I'd been hit by a truck…but at least the itching feeling was gone, and so was that intense painful throbbing. I also didn't feel any particular urge to hurt James. That was good; I had already done enough damage. He probably hated me.

Though I was reluctant, I forced myself to speak. He would notice I was awake sooner or later anyway.

"James."

The blond straightened at the sound of my voice and then slowly turned around to face me. It took a bit of an effort, but I managed to sit up and meet his gaze.

"Brittany." He spoke my name in turn, attempting a smile. "…How are you feeling?"

"Better," I replied quietly, well aware that the conversation still seemed a little stiff.

My eyes were drawn to the wound on his shoulder—that part of his coat was soaked with blood, but the fact that he was still standing suggested that he had bandaged it at some point while I was out. He was pale, though. That worried me.

His face softened. "That's a relief."

"What…what happened?" I asked, reaching up to rub my forehead. "You gave me something…something that made me really sick. And then…"

Then I had thrown up, vomiting out a black liquid on to the floor. I didn't know what the hell that liquid had been, and that terrified me. That _moth _coming out of me had scared me a lot, too.

James was reaching into his bag, pulling something out. My eyes widened a little when I recognized it—the ampoule I'd found in that strange replica of my room. _Ipomoea lacunosa extract._

"The writing on the label is the scientific name for a plant called White Claudia," he explained. "It only grows in Silent Hill. The extract is used to make a remedy called Aglaophotis. That's what I gave you…I think it purged whatever was…was inside of you."

"Aglaophotis…?" I repeated, shocked. That stuff? From the first and third Silent Hills…it was used to exorcise demons. So what I'd thrown up could have been…

"H-How did you know all of this?" I finally asked, trying not to finish my previous train of thought.

"When you were on the first floor, I did a little research in the Reading Room," he admitted, looking away. I understood his unspoken apology—he had kept it a secret because he hadn't wanted to get my hopes up. But that book, the one I'd seen lying on the table in there…so that had been the key.

I reached out and took the vial from him, staring at it. Some tiny red droplets still clung to the inside of the glass. That was right…Aglaophotis was supposed to be a blood-red color. So I had swallowed it, and it had made me vomit up all of the bad stuff?

"It's cracked," I noted aloud. The top had been snapped off, but I also noted another crack in the glass near the bottom.

"I know. I think it happened when...when you fell. In that room with those Pyramid Heads." James still wouldn't meet my gaze. "Some of the liquid leaked out before I could give it to you. But…"

"I feel okay," I reassured him. "Sore and tired, but okay. A lot better than earlier."

He offered me a troubled smile. "That's good."

"Oh…" I blinked, remembering something. "That's right. I completely forgot…I need to give you something."

Now I reached into my pocket, pulling out the envelope with James' name printed on the front—Mary's letter. When I held it out to him, his face held an expression of dull surprise, almost like he had been through too much for the gravity of it to really register.

"I found it when I was looking around on the first floor," I explained. "I think it's the other letter. The one Laura lost."

Finally James reached out a hand, taking it from me. He slumped down on to the bench next to me, reaching into the envelope and pulling out the papers within. And then everything fell silent as he read his wife's final words to him.

As James went over the contents of the letter, I took the time to really observe our surroundings. We were still in Silent Hill, but something had undoubtedly changed. There…there was no movement in the fog. No static. No sense of being watched. I could honestly say I felt safe right now; we were really and truly alone.

Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. All I heard was the soft lapping of the lake water against the shore, accompanied by the sound of our own breathing. It was almost…peaceful. Yes, something had definitely changed.

Next to me, the blond folded the papers back up and placed them in the breast pocket of his coat. Then he leaned his elbows on his knees, staring out over the lake with brooding eyes.

"I understand now," he murmured. "Mary's…gone. At first I thought maybe…somehow you were being made to suffer to punish me. Your sickness, and the way you attacked me…but no. Mary was never here."

I reached up to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. At least he was finally coming to terms with it. "Are you all right?"

James closed his eyes. "…Yes. It's okay; I…I don't need her anymore."

That puzzled me for a moment, but I didn't want to press it. If James was feeling better, then that was fine. I couldn't imagine the degree of pain losing a loved one like that had to cause. Hell, if I had succeeded in killing James during my crazy moment earlier…I wasn't sure I would have ever been able to get over it. Not just because of the guilt—but because I couldn't imagine what I would do if I lost him.

"Um…" I chewed on my lower lip. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too," he replied.

"I shot you."

James shook his head. "You weren't yourself. Besides…I deserved it."

"No you didn't!" I protested, frustrated. "Enough with the guilt issues! There's no way you deserved to be _shot, _for god's sake—"

"I care about you," he told me in a flat voice. "Not just Mary. You were right—she's dead and gone. You're what's important now. If I had known that then…maybe you wouldn't have gotten so sick."

"James…" I murmured. I didn't know quite what to say to that. He had always been so evasive and hard to read about these things. Having him tell me I was more important than his late wife all of a sudden—and _mean _it—it was a little much.

But what was I thinking? Hadn't that been what I'd wanted to hear all this time? It wasn't that he didn't care about Mary anymore…he was just accepting that she was gone. He wasn't running away from it anymore. He wasn't.

"I know," he said quietly. "You're…you're all right now, and that's what matters." Now James stood up, turning to me and holding out a hand. "I've dragged you around for long enough. Let's go home."

Now I smiled in earnest; it was a mixture of happiness and pure relief. I took his hand, standing up as well. "Yeah. I bet Silent Hill will look just lovely in your rearview mirror."

There was a moment when our eyes met and he smiled back—it suddenly felt to me like something had changed. Yes, something was definitely different between the two of us, but…

We walked side-by-side out of Rosewater Park, beginning the long trek down Nathan Avenue. It would be quite a ways back to the Observation Deck, but I was sure it would go by quickly. Knowing we were finally leaving filled me with a feeling of elation. In a matter of hours, I could be _home. _I could see my mom again…all of my friends…

James was going to take me home. We might have to stop at a rest area or motel to wash up and get some sleep, but the thought of being back in normal civilization was exciting enough. The first thing I wanted to do was

_(don't you want to touch me)_

go somewhere with lots of people. Maybe coerce James into buying me dinner, because I had absolutely no money on me. Christ, what a laugh—_I shot you, buy me dinner!_ I was sure he'd…he'd…

Suddenly I lost my train of thought. Something was just…nagging at me, in the back of my head. Something was _different. _I couldn't get over it.

Then I noticed that James was still holding on to my hand, even after he'd helped me up. I'd latched on to him without even realizing it. Stupid me…it was instinctive now. Grabbing his hand, hugging him, making physical contact—I'd done it all without hesitation in the town because of all the fear and stress I'd been under. That was when we had been two people fighting for our lives; it had been excusable then.

But now I couldn't just grab his hand. We might have been through a lot, but that was behind us now. There was no reason to seek human contact when I no longer needed comforting.

James noticed instantly that I'd pulled away, and paused to frown at me for a second before seeming to let it go. We continued down the road.

…I still wanted to be close to him.

That thought caused me to literally stop in my tracks. My brow drew together as I suddenly realized something—I _hadn't _been reaching out to him solely for comfort. Maybe it had been that way in the beginning, but not anymore. I reached out to him because I wanted to. It was simple as that. Being close to him made me feel…right. Like it was supposed to be that way.

That was why I'd been so upset when he'd rejected me. Why I'd so desperately wanted him to care all this time. And now he finally _did, _and I…

"…Brittany?" James turned, looking back at me with an expression of concern. "What's wrong?"

"Um…" I paused to think, uncertain. "I was just…well, after all this…we'll still stay in contact, right?"

There. That was the best I could do for now.

He gave me a look that was hard to read. "…Of course," he replied slowly. "I…I want you. I want you around, I mean." James amended his last statement hastily, avoiding my gaze.

While I normally would've laughed loudly and mocked his blunder, something about his tone just made me hesitate. Almost as if…agh, I just needed to stop. This was James—he was just a difficult to understand person. No sense in getting worried over something as silly as this.

I tried to give him a reassured smile at this. "Oh. Yeah…sorry for holding us up. Let's keep going."

He nodded. "Only a little further now."

The rest of the walk passed in relative silence. We passed the graveyard and went down the forest path; it was foggy and deserted as ever. I was still relatively alert, but we didn't encounter any monsters. No animals passed us by either, but that wasn't a surprise—I hadn't seen any wildlife in ages. It felt like we were the only human beings around for miles.

I found myself getting tired a lot faster than I thought I would; the walk couldn't have been more than two or three miles, but my body didn't want to handle it. My arm hurt like hell, there was a lump on my head from when James had whacked me with the shotgun, and I still generally felt like crap from everything that had happened. I wasn't falling apart like I had been earlier…but I certainly hadn't come out of this unscathed.

Then we walked up a set of stairs and came out on to the Observation Deck. Oh…I could see James' car from here. I could see the way out!

"Thank god," I whispered, slowing down due to exhaustion.

"Yeah. We're here," he reassured me, placing a hand on the small of my back as he fell in step with me.

We walked onward, each step carrying us closer to freedom. And then something changed—I began to cough.

Suddenly there was something in my chest, in my throat. It was some sort of blockage that set me off, covering my mouth as I attempted to free up my lungs to breathe. The cough was deep and painful and it sounded almost _wet,_ like I had some kind of phlegm inside of me.

"Shit," I muttered when it finally subsided, taking a deep and shuddering breath.

James had stopped in his tracks as well. I could feel him staring at me, so I looked up. His expression was dark and unreadable.

"…You'd better do something about that cough," he finally said.

Then he turned around and began walking to his car again. I didn't move—I felt like I had been punched in the stomach.

_Better do something about that cough._

Or what, huh? Or else what? You'll smother me with a fucking pillow? I wanted to scream that at him, but my heart was beating too fast and I couldn't seem to form words.

No…this couldn't be. Had he really said that to me? Now the memories came rushing back and I found myself trembling. All this time I had been forced into Maria's role. All this time…

_Some of the liquid leaked out before I could give it to you._

The Aglaophotis. I hadn't gotten the full dose. I was still sick.

I stared at James' back as he continued to walk on to the car. He hadn't noticed my reaction just yet. All at once, a distinct sense of dread and despair settled over me like a heavy weight.

_I don't need her anymore._

_You're what's important now._

_I…I want you. I want you around, I mean._

_Let's go home._

I shakily pressed a hand to my forehead as my mind ran over everything James had said in the past hour, the way he'd been acting. How strangely parallel it was to how things would've gone had he chosen Maria.

I was sick. This was going to happen all over again. James hadn't learned a single thing. And—

_Those who walk in shadows walk with Death._

And it was my own fault, I realized with dismay. I had misinterpreted the warning. It wasn't following James that had gotten me sick—it was walking in _Maria's _footsteps. In her shadow.

I had depended on James too much, grown too attached to him in the wrong way. It was my fault. He had strayed from learning what he needed to learn, and now he was…

I pressed a hand to my mouth and fought to stifle a cough. After hearing that cold remark from him, the thought of coughing again so soon afterward frightened me.

Black moths symbolized death, didn't they…

Now I closed my eyes, feeling dizzy. I had vomited one up earlier. Suddenly I was struck with the sudden certainty that there were more still inside of me—and the Aglaophotis hadn't gotten them.

_You'd better do something about that cough._

I had failed and in doing so had kept a vicious cycle afloat. The cough was just going to worsen until it killed me, or until…

I stared at James' back. Then I pulled the handgun from my side and held it in my hands, considering it. The sleek black metal gleamed with an almost seductive light.

My hands shook violently. Couldn't I…couldn't I save James? Was there still a chance? Or would going with him be effectively sealing my fate? Spending just a short while here had shown me the sort of things Mary had gone through—fits of pain, mood swings, confusion and self-loathing…just a day (eternity?) in Silent Hill had nearly broken me. I didn't think I could handle years of this.

In a way, leaving with him would just be prolonging the inevitable. Why not save myself the trouble and James the extra guilt?

Okay…okay. I would do something about my cough.

…

_Do you really love her? In sickness and in health? If you truly love her, then you must act. It all depends on how hard you fight for her._

_Whatever happens, don't give up. Always try just one more time. Even though there may be hard times, never turn to another woman._

_And if it comes to it, you must be willing to protect her with your very life. After all, true love means a willingness to sacrifice._

_Be true to your heart and with luck, things will work out in the end._


	21. Ending: Awakening

**A/N: Ending number four, _"Awakening"_.**

* * *

When my eyes finally slipped open, I was amazed I had been able to wake up at all.

My entire body felt…wrong. The pain still lingered, it felt like there was a rock in my stomach, and I couldn't move at all. My limbs wouldn't respond—all I could do was breathe and blink. I couldn't even find the strength to turn my head.

After my initial disorientation faded, I was able to gather that I was lying in a bed. It was the same bed I'd seen when we'd first entered this area. From what I could see, it was still light outside; not that time ran the same in this cursed town.

My head was tilted just enough that I could see James sitting in a chair beside the bed. I had no idea where the hell he'd _gotten _the chair, but that was hardly important right now. I was too relieved to sweat the details. His shoulder was bloody, but he was still alive and okay. He must've bandaged it up while I was out.

The blond was currently staring down at a few papers in his hands. Oh…that writing. I could see it from here; it was Mary's letter. He had found it in my pocket at some point.

After a few seconds, he folded up the papers and put them in his breast pocket. Then he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

I tried to open my mouth and let him know I was awake. Nothing happened—my mind was sending out the commands, and my body just wasn't responding. It was like trying to turn on the lights when the bulb was burnt out.

"…I understand now," James finally said. From the look on his face and the tone of his voice, I was sure he still didn't know I was awake. "I know what I have to do, Brittany."

Immobile on the bed, I silently hoped he would tell me just what he thought that was.

"Mary's gone," he murmured. "And now you're sick, too. If I don't do something…I'll lose you both."

I didn't understand where he was going with this. Part of me hoped he had come up with some kind of solution. But that resolute expression on his face…he was going to do something drastic, wasn't he? Something stupid. He'd had that look in his eyes when he'd taken on the two Pyramid Heads.

"I read the book," James told me. "The one you were so worried about. I wonder, what were you afraid of? It had the solution all along…" He leaned back in his chair. "This town, Silent Hill…the Old Gods haven't left this place, Brittany. And they still grant power to those who venerate them…"

_No! No! NO!_

"Power to defy even death…"

My eyes grew wide as dinner plates. He had pulled Crimson Ceremony out of his bag. _He had been carrying it with him all this time._

I tried to open my mouth, to scream, anything. My body was still unresponsive. My heart hammered in my chest as panic and adrenaline flooded uselessly through my system. I wanted to slap him, to yell, to call him fucking _crazy _for even considering touching that horrible book, but there was absolutely nothing I could do. I had tried to warn him earlier but he hadn't listened. Now…now…

"It's going to be okay." James reached out, gently squeezing my hand. "If you're her vessel…then you'll both live on. We'll always be together."

Please, no…

The pain was getting worse again and I was fading fast. I fought to remain conscious, wanting to somehow snap James out of it, to get him to realize just how utterly insane he sounded right now. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing changed. It occurred to me that this might be it—my body might really be failing me. I might never be able to move properly again.

James pulled my arm around his shoulders and scooped me up bridal-style, beginning to carry me out of the room. And despite my best efforts…my eyes slipped closed and everything faded away.

…

_Upon the hill where _

_the light descended, _

_the Beast intoned his song. _

_With words of blood, drops of mist and _

_the vessel of night, the grave became an open field._

…

_I shall bring down bitter vengeance _

_upon thee and thou shalt suffer _

_my eternal wrath._

_The beauty of the withering flower _

_and the last struggles of the dying _

_man, they are my blessings._

_Thou shalt ever call upon me and _

_all that is me in the place that is _

_silent._

* * *

**A/N: And that's that.**

**A big THANK YOU to all of my reviewers - I never could have done this without you! You guys are awesome!**

**Also, a special thanks to Arktos. Your lengthy, thorough reviews were always the highlight of my day. :)**

**Um...I feel like I should write more, but once I get going I think I'll just ramble you all to sleep. Point is, I'm really grateful for all of the support and I feel like I've really improved as a writer throughout the course of this story. **

**If I think of any more endings (particularly a joke ending...jeez, I really feel like I should do one), I'll post them and it'll just be a pleasant surprise for you guys. If not...well, I'm just going to enjoy my sense of accomplishment for now. XD**

**I'm going to take a break from SH fanfiction for a little while - but I'll most likely be back with a SH3 sequel. Once I, y'know, think of an actual plot for it. And replay SH3 a million times.**

**Go ahead and check my profile page. I'll have a poll up where you can vote for your favorite ending. ;D**

**So...I can't think of a cool way to end this. Uhh...uhh...**

**PEACE OUT!**


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